Women's Lacrosse Drops Big Ten Opener to No. 17 Penn State

Saturday, March 17

Piscataway, NJ

12:00PM

Rutgers University

4-5, 0-1B1G

Penn State

6-3, 1-0B1G

Penn State

Rutgers

Photo by: Rich Graessle

Women's Lacrosse Drops Big Ten Opener to No. 17 Penn State

Mar 17 | Women's Lacrosse

Box Score

Naslonski, Puckhaber record hat tricks in home loss to Nittany Lions

PISCATAWAY, N.J. – Senior captain Kerri Puckhaber and freshman Taralyn Naslonski posted hat tricks, but Rutgers women's lacrosse (4-5, 0-1) suffered a 18-13 loss to No. 17 Penn State (6-3, 1-0) Saturday afternoon at High Point Solutions Stadium. Despite the Scarlet Knights outscoring PSU in the second half, the Nittany Lions were able to leave Piscataway with a win.

Senior Joanna Reilly contributed multiple goals off the bench, while five others found the back of the cage during the first conference game of the season. Four Scarlet Knights caused multiple turnovers, while redshirt junior Christine DiLullo produced a team-high three ground balls. Senior Paige Paratore led the way with six draw controls, while junior Regina Sharp muscled five.

"We definitely had moments where we put it all together, but against a high-quality opponent, we need more of those," said head coach Laura Brand Sias. "With another quality opponent coming up, we will put in solid work this week and be a better team on Thursday."

Great second-half effort for #RUWLAX, as we score 10 goals in the final 30 minutes today at HPSS.

Next game: Thursday at Ohio State. pic.twitter.com/oYH6X6nN42
— Rutgers Women's Lax (@rulaxbrand) March 17, 2018

After trailing 10-3 at halftime, RU outscored Penn State, 10-8, in the final 30 minutes of the game. Naslonski buried all three of her goals in the second half, with her unassisted strike with under five minutes to go sparking a 4-1 scoring run to close out the game. Sharp, Puckhaber and sophomore Samantha Budd all had goals during the stretch.

Rutgers hits the road for its next time out, facing Ohio State Thursday night in Columbus.

Follow Rutgers Athletics on Facebook and Twitter for all of the latest news and updates. For specific updates regarding Rutgers women's lacrosse, follow the program Facebook, and on Twitter and Instagram @RULaxBrand. Fans can receive timely information, including special offers and giveaways throughout the year on both social media outlets along with www.ScarletKnights.com.