Rutgers Prepares for BIG EAST Championships
Apr 23 | Women's Lacrosse
PISCATAWAY, N.J. - The Rutgers women's lacrosse team will face No. 5 Syracuse in the semifinals of the BIG EAST Championship, on Friday, April 25, at Notre Dame Stadium in South Bend, Ind. Rutgers (7-9, 2-3) is the fourth seed in the Tournament, while SU (13-2, 5-0) is the top seed thanks to its first outright BIG EAST regular-season title.
The Scarlet Knights are led by sophomore attacker Brooke Cantwell (Moorestown, N.J.) who paces the team with 34 goals and 47 points. Cantwell has a team-high 52 draw controls on the season, good for first place in the BIG EAST and ninth nationally. Cantwell was named to the BIG EAST Weekly Honor roll the past two consecutive weeks.
Syracuse is led by junior attacker Katie Rowan, who has 59 goals and 51 assists on the year. She is one of 18 women's lacrosse student-athletes nominated for the 2008 Tewaaraton Trophy, presented to the nation's top lacrosse player. Rowan has broken the single-season scoring record with 110 points, becoming the first player in school history to surpass 100 points in a season. Her 51 assists are also a single-season record, and her 59 goals ties the school record she set last year.
Rutgers is 3-9 all-time against Syracuse, including a 1-8 mark in BIG EAST play. Earlier this season, RU fell to the Orange 18-6 at Yurcak Field. Rowan had three goals and four assists in the win. Junior Michelle Poole (Long Valley, N.J) and Cantwell each finished with two goals in the loss.
For the second consecutive season, the Scarlet Knights will take on the Orange in the first round of the BIG EAST Championships. Last season SU won 13-7, as it went on to win the inaugural BIG EAST Championship, defeating Georgetown 12-7 in the final. The winner of Friday's first semifinal will face the winner of Georgetown and Notre Dame in the Championship game on Sunday, April 27, at 12:00 p.m.
