Field Hockey Faces Top 25 in New Jersey

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – Following a successful four-game home stand at the IU Field Hockey Complex, Indiana hits the road for five consecutive games outside of the state. That begins this weekend with two games in New Jersey, as the Hoosiers gear up for top 25 contests with No. 23 Rutgers and No. 25 Monmouth.

With the Hoosiers ranked at No. 28 in the initial NCAA RPI poll, these games are sure to be closely fought. Success this weekend could lead to the first national top 25 ranking since head coach Amanda Janney's arrival in Bloomington.

This is a special weekend for five of the Hoosiers, all of whom are playing their first career games in their home state of New Jersey. Ciara Girouard (West Deptford), Katie Johnson (Ocean City), Sam Scire (Wall), Hanna Zarrilli (Wall), and assistant coach Becky Stiles (Medford) are sure to feel at home in both games this weekend. Sunday's game at Monmouth is as close to home as it gets for Scire and Zarrilli, a 20-minute drive down the shore from their hometown.

"I'm very excited," Scire said about the return. "Hanna and I played on Monmouth's field for Jersey Intensity, our club team. It's going to be really cool being basically in our hometown. I'm excited to show my teammates not from the state what New Jersey has to offer."

The Hoosiers face a battle in their game with the No. 23 Scarlet Knights, who host the Hoosiers for the first time in Janney's tenure at Indiana. Indiana won both contests at home the last two seasons, taking a 3-2 win last season with two goals from Taylor Pearson, an assist from Kelsey Giese, and a penalty stroke score by Kate Barber. The Scarlet Knights have won four-of-six meetings with the Hoosiers, but Indiana has won the last two encounters.

Rutgers opened their season with four consecutive wins, and they picked up a 2-1 victory over Cornell last weekend. Two of their three losses have come against top 25 competition. Friday's game against the Hoosiers will be their first Big Ten contest of the season.

"I'm really excited for everyone to see the hockey that I grew up with," Johnson said, sharing sympathies with Scire. "It's where I learned the game. The pace of the Midwest is so different from what I'm used to, and I'm excited for them to experience the culture change."

The Hoosiers and Hawks will meet for the first time as Division-I competitors on Sunday, although such a scenario is not unique for Janney's Hoosiers. They met Syracuse for their first-ever game in 2015, Janney's first season at Indiana, and opened their all-time series with Delaware last year.

The Hawks are the second of three defending conference champions on Indiana's schedule (Delaware on 8/26, Penn State on 10/22). Monmouth cracked the top 25 in the latest polls, their first appearance of the season, after three consecutive wins over Lehigh, Brown, and Quinnipiac. A game on Friday against Drexel (3-5) could give the Hawks a four-game winning streak heading into their date with the Hoosiers.

"We have a chance to put ourselves on the map," Johnson said, laying out the stakes at hand this weekend. "We've been within the top 30 and on the outside looking in, but this is a chance for us to break through into the top 25."

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Players Mentioned

Kate Barber

Kelsey Giese

Ciara Girouard

Katie Johnson

Taylor Pearson

Sam Scire

Hanna Zarrilli