A Legacy: Celebrating Rutgers Field Hockey During Women’s History Month
Mar 31 | Field Hockey
At Rutgers, the women’s field hockey team celebrates a great legacy of accomplishments, with an identity forged across generations. Here, in celebration of Women’s History Month, we look back on what made Rutgers the national powerhouse that Meredith Civico leads today.
The field hockey program at Rutgers began in 1974, with the first ever win for the Scarlet Knights coming on September 30, 1974, a 4-0 win over William Patterson. Since then, RU has made five NCAA Tournaments, with three NCAA wins, defeated 52 ranked teams and won at least 14 games in five different seasons. There have been a host of talented players to make an impact during their time ‘On the Banks’, featuring 26 different All-Americans, 96 All-Region selections,18 conference award winners and 90 all-conference players.
Rutgers has been led by six different head coaches over the course of its history. After three different women, Ellen Jones, Patricia Weinert and Betty Logan, led the team for a season apiece in the first three years of the program, RU then turned to the head coach who would have a huge impact on shaping the program.
Ann Petracco took the helm of the Scarlet Knights ahead of the 1977 season and led the program for the next 26 seasons. Over that time, she won 248 games, including seven seasons of double-digit wins and took the program to their first two NCAA Tournament in 1984 and 1986. In 1984, Rutgers went 15-4-4, setting the program wins record which would stand for 39 years. The Scarlet Knights went 14-3-4 throughout the regular season to earn the program’s first NCAA appearance, then defeated Penn State by a 3-0 scoreline in the first NCAA game. That gave the Scarlet Knights a berth in the NCAA Final Eight, where the season ultimately ended with a loss to Temple.
RU returned to the NCAA Tournament for its second trip in 1986, with a 13-5-2 regular season, including a 12-2 start to the year earning the team its place in the NCAAs. RU again won its first NCAA Tournament matchup, downing Penn, 3-2, before losing in the NCAA Final Eight to North Carolina.
The three-year span from 1984 to 1986 was a highly successful stretch for RU, with the Scarlet Knights winning 40 games over those three years, with contributions from many individuals, including Liz McGuire, Mary Beth Dwyer and Lisa LaValle contributing goal-scoring, with each of them posting at least 12 goals in one of those season, and Renee Clarke excelling in the cage. RU had its first four All-Americans in that span, with Elizabeth McGuire in 1984 the first in program history. She was followed by Chris Lacy in 1985 and Janice Fuls and Kirsten Ganshaw in 1985. Elizabeth Ferrara was also named All-Mid-East Region following the 1984 season. Goalkeeper Renee Clarke, who played from 1985-1987, is the program’s all-time leader with 634 saves.
In 1993, Heather Jones scored 28 goals and had 59 points for RU. Those totals both still stand as program bests for a single-season. Two seasons later, Valerie Coyle set the program single-season assist record with 15.
Andschana Mendes became the first three-time All-American in program history when she earned the accolade following the 1999, 2000 and 2001 seasons. Mendes is second all-time in program history in both goals (60) and points (139).
Liz Tchou took helm of the program in 2003 and led RU to 63 victories. In that time came Amy Lewis, a Second Team All-American selection in 2008. Lewis is the only Scarlet Knight to score 20 or more goals in a single season, and she did it three times, scoring 21 in 2006, 20 in 2007 and 24 in 2008. Lewis has firm command of RU’s career records for both goals (71) and points (159), while her teammate Corinne Bach has the all-time assist record with 37 assists, many of them setting up Lewis’ goals.
Meredith Civico took the helm of the program in 2012 and has taken the Scarlet Knights’ program to the next level. Civico surpassed 100 wins in her first nine years with the team, and has won 144 games over the past 14 seasons through the 2025 campaign. Over that span, she has led RU back to the NCAA Tournament three times, won the program’s first Big Ten title, defeated 52 ranked opponents and reached at least nine wins in 11 different seasons, becoming a mainstay in the national rankings. Civico has three of the five NCAA Tournament appearances in program history. Since joining the Big Ten Conference in 2014-15, RU has had 13 All-Americans, including four First Team All-Americans, four Big Ten major award winners and 31 all-Big Ten selections, and Civico earned a Coach of the Year accolade from the Big Ten and the ECAC, as well as the entire staff winning the Regional Coaching Staff of the Year award.
In 2018, Civico’s Scarlet Knights returned to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 1986. The Scarlet Knights compiled a 13-5 regular season record, the most wins in 10 years, to earn the at-large bid.
One of the most memorable seasons in recent program history came in 2021. Rutgers won the Big Ten Tournament Championship for the first time, capturing three wins in four days on its home field. The victory marked the first Big Ten Tournament championship for any Rutgers athletics program.
Rutgers hosted tremendous crowds at the Bauer Complex for the tournament for the event. The final was capped by a thrilling 1-0 victory over No. 2 Michigan that stands as the highest ranked opponent defeated in program history. Captain Kerrie Burns was named the Tournament MVP and she was joined on the All-Tournament team by goalkeeper Gianna Glatz, who was the Co-Player of the Year in the Big Ten that season.
The 2021 team earned 19 victories, the most in program history. The Scarlet Knights also set program records for ranked wins (13), top-10 wins (six) and Big Ten Conference wins (six). Following the Big Ten title, the Scarlet Knights entered the NCAA Tournament as the No. 1 overall seed and ranked No. 1 in the NFHCA Coaches Poll for the first time in program history. RU advanced to the Elite Eight with a First Round victory over No. 17 Delaware, the first NCAA Tournament victory for the program since 1986. The 2021 team will be celebrated this season On the Banks for the fifth anniversary of their historic tournament title.
RU returned to the NCAA Tournament in 2023, marking the third NCAA Tournament appearance in six years. That team saw Iris Langejans become the fourth First Team All-American over the past four years, joining Gianna Glatz (twice) and Katie Larmour). In 2023, Langejans was the Big Ten Player of the Year and Puck Winter was the Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year. Puck Winter, was also the Big Ten Freshman of the Year in 2022, finished her career as Rutgers’ all-time leader in defensive saves (31), tying the Big Ten record as well, leading the NCAA in the stat in 2023 and 2024.
The Rutgers Athletics Hall of Fame Class of 2024 saw two with ties to the program recognized as Maria Grant and Hallie Cohen were inducted. They joined five previous Scarlet Knights in the Rutgers Athletics Hall of Fame. Elizabeth McGuire and Renee Clarke were inducted in the Induction Class of 1994, with McGuire’s number 4 jersey being retired alongside her teammates Regina Alonzo’s number 5. McGuire was a two-time team MVP, and RU’s Headley-Singer Award winner in 1985 as well as a member of the U.S. National Team in 1984, when she had been a regional and national All-American as a key member of RU’s Elite Eight squad. Clarke is one of the greatest goalkeepers in program history, graduating as the school’s all-time leader in saves (634) and ranked nationally in career save percentage, career saves and single-season saves. She was also a recipient of the Headley-Singer Award.
Elizabeth Ferrara was inducted in 1998. Her stellar career concluded in 1984 when she was the Rutgers Player of the Year and led the Scarlet Knights to the NCAA Tournament Elite Eight as a goalkeeper who set the school record with 13 shutouts. She was a Regional All-American and was a member of the United States 21 & Under National Team.
Heather Jones was a member of the Induction Class of 2000. She capped her career off in 1993 by setting the school single-season records for goals (28) and points (59). Her 59 points were also an Atlantic-10 record, and she led RU to 14 wins as a senior and the school’s first ever Atlantic 10 Tournament victory.
Heidi Faith was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2002. Faith set two RU single-game records -- goals (six) and points (12) as a senior in 1976. She was named to the New Atlantic All-Conference First Team in 1973 and 1975. She went on to earn a bronze medal at the U.S. Olympic Sports Festival in 1981 as a member of the U.S. National Team.
A program with a proud tradition of excellence, the Scarlet Knights are well poised for the future under the direction of head coach Meredith Civico and new Director of Athletics Keli Zinn. The team has built a strong foundation for success on the back of all of these amazing women that will help carry the Scarlet Knights forwards for the years ahead. Building on a strong, family-first team culture, RU is set to continue into a new generation with further growth and more milestones to achieve. The next chapter of the Rutgers field hockey story is just beginning.
