PISCATAWAY, N.J. – Rutgers scored three first half goals and then held off a late surge by the Cornell field hockey team to hand the Big Red its first loss of the season, 4-2, this afternoon at the Bauer Field Hockey Complex in Piscataway, N.J.
 
Rutgers (4-2) held a significant advantage in shots (16-9), but just a slight edge in shots on goal (9-8) and penalty corners (8-7). Altogether, five of the game's six goals were scored on penalty corners, including both of Cornell's tallies.
 
Cornell goalie Kelly Johnson finished with five saves in the loss, while Rutgers' Shevaun Hayes stopped six to earn the win.
 
The Scarlet Knights scored just 1:56 into the contest, when Linde van Schaik drove down the right side of the circle and beat Kelly Johnson for the only goal scored during the run of play. Rutgers tacked on two more goals before the half to take a 3-0 lead into the intermission.
 
Cornell (3-1) stepped up the offensive pressure in the second half, earning six of its seven penalty corners over the final 35 minutes of the contest. Sam McILwrick got Cornell on the board in the 51st minute off a penalty corner. McILwrick pushed the ball into play and then snuck to the near post and redirected a pass from Gabby DePetro into the goal to make it a 3-1 game.
 
Just over seven minutes later, the visitors made it a one goal game with another penalty corner goal. The Big Red's initial shot was blocked and the ball went back to the top of the circle where Katie Carlson blasted it off a Rutgers' defender's stick into the goal.
 
That was as close as it would get, as the Scarlet Knights added an insurance goal with under eight minutes to play to account for the 4-2 outcome.
 
Cornell will face its toughest test so far this season when it returns to Marsha Dodson Field and welcomes No. 11 Stanford on Tuesday, Sept. 13 at 1 p.m.