Women's Lacrosse Continues Road Swing Tuesday at LIU Brooklyn

Tuesday, February 13

Brooklyn, NY

4:00PM

Rutgers University

LIU Brooklyn

Photo by: Mitch Leff/Rutgers Athletics

Women's Lacrosse Continues Road Swing Tuesday at LIU Brooklyn

Feb 12 | Women's Lacrosse

Game Notes Live Stats

Scarlet Knights face off with Blackbirds for 4 p.m. contest

PISCATAWAY, N.J. – Rutgers women's lacrosse continues its three-game road swing when it plays at LIU Brooklyn on Tuesday (Feb. 13) at LIU Field for a 4 p.m. contest. The game is one of two true road matchups for the Scarlet Knights this week, who also compete at Monmouth this Saturday (Feb. 17) in West Long Branch, New Jersey.

Last Time Out
Despite a late rally consisting of a 4-0 scoring run, RU dropped its season opener to Temple, 12-8, last Saturday afternoon at Hawthorn Field in Philadelphia.

Senior midfielder Paige Paratore recorded her first-career hat trick for Rutgers, while sophomore midfielder Samantha Budd tied the program single-game record with 12 draw controls in the loss. The Scarlet Knights won the draw control battle, 16-6.

Scouting LIU Brooklyn
This will be the 2018 season opener for the Blackbirds, who were picked to finish eighth in the NEC preseason poll after they finished 3-12 in 2017. LIU Brooklyn returns 11 letterwinners from the 2017 squad, in addition to nine newcomers. Bianca Santucci is the team's leading returning scorer with 19 points (17g, 2 a) last season.

The Series
This will be the first ever meeting between the two programs.

Balanced Scoring Attack
Nine different Scarlet Knights scored 10 or more goals last season, with six of those players returning to the field in 2018.

Redshirt senior Nicole Kopyta returns as RU's leading scorer after she was third on the team in 2017 with 24 goals. Junior Abbey Brooks (4th, 18 goals), Paratore (5th, 16 goals), senior Kerri Puckhaber (6th, 12 goals), Budd (T/7th, 15 goals) and senior Joanna Reilly (T/7th, 15 goals) all return as well for Rutgers this season.

In its 2018 season opener against Temple, Rutgers demonstrated its mentality of spreading the scoring wealth. Six Scarlet Knights found the back of the cage against the Owls, including three goals from Paratore and one each from Budd, Brooks, Reilly, junior Allie Ferrara and sophomore Jordan Drab.

2018 Captains
Head coach Laura Brand Sias designated Puckhabaer, Christine DiLullo and Alana Navaroli as team captains for the 2018 season. Both Navaroli and Puckhaber played in all 16 contests for the Scarlet Knights last spring, while DiLullo missed last season due to injury. The trio will help RU in its fourth season in the Big Ten Conference.

Preseason Honors
Budd, Puckhaber and senior Amanda Casten were selected as Big Ten Players to Watch, announced on Jan. 29 by the league office. This is the third preseason All-Big Ten selection for Casten, who enters her final collegiate season after she was named an All-Big Ten defender in both 2016 and 2017.

Up Next
Rutgers returns to the turf on Saturday (Feb. 17) for a 1 p.m. road contest at Monmouth.

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.