After coming off two straight losses against Duke and Virginia, the field hockey team is looking to bounce back Sunday at 1 p.m. against Rutgers.

Coach Amanda Janney said that a win would be a big step.

“It would be huge,” Janney said. “Because if we don’t come out with a win, it kind of negates a little bit of our success this past weekend even though we didn’t win either day, we know that we played great.”

With the Owls looking to improve from last weekend, they are seeing a future conference opponent in Rutgers. Next season when Temple makes it all-sports move into the Big East, it will be joining Rutgers amongst many other teams.

Janney said that beating Big East teams such as Rutgers helps boost the confidence of younger players who will be in the new conference for the coming years.

“It’s perfect for their confidence, since they will have already seen a Big East team and they won’t be intimidated by them,” Janney said.

According to Janney, Rutgers has a similar playing style as many teams in the Atlantic 10 Conference.

“Rutger is like many A-10 teams,” Janney said. “They’re scrappy and aggressive, and just not a very a pretty style of hockey, but it’s going to be an aggressive battle.”

With young aggressive players, such as freshman midfielder Taylor Shronk and sophomore forward Amber Youtz, the Owls are looking to out hustle Rutgers this Sunday.

-Colin Tansits