COLUMBUS, Ohio – Despite a hat trick from senior Paige Paratore and 15 saves from junior Devon Kearns, Rutgers women's lacrosse (4-6, 0-2) dropped a 12-10 road game to Ohio State (4-5, 1-1) Friday afternoon in Columbus. After trailing at halftime, the Scarlet Knights tied up the game midway through the second half and got the score to within two late in the game, but could not finish the comeback against the Buckeyes.
 
Junior Dana Gisonno added her fourth multi-goal outing of 2018 with two goals off the bench, while five others contributed scores. On defense, redshirt junior Christine DiLullo scooped up a game-high six ground balls, while junior Regina Sharp secured five draw controls and caused two turnovers.
 
For the second time in her last three games, Kearns matched a single game career high with 15 saves, which included eight in the first half and seven in the second.
 
"We were definitely flat in the first half, but came out strong to start the second," said head coach Laura Brand Sias. "We tied the game up, but couldn't keep that consistent momentum to pull out the win."
 
RU was the first to score during the afternoon affair, as Gisonno converted a free position attempt at the 27:56 mark for an early 1-0 lead. The Buckeyes responded with three consecutive goals before the Scarlet Knights returned to the scoreboard, courtesy of a goal from sophomore Samantha Budd with 14:37 to go in the opening half.
 
Defense was the name of the game during the middle portion of the first period. Ohio State had back-to-back scoring opportunities at the 10-minute mark, but Kearns made multiple impressive saves during the sequence, ending the half with eight.
 
The Buckeyes would respond with back-to-back strikes before freshman Taralyn Naslonski found a cutting Paratore for the score, making it a 5-3 game with 4:49 to go. OSU added two more goals after the Paratore strike, but senior Kerri Puckhaber made a nice pass from behind the cage to junior Allie Ferrara with just 45 seconds left in the half, as RU trailed 7-4 heading into the locker room.
 
The Scarlet Knights forced six OSU turnovers in the first half and converted all nine of their clear attempts in the first 30 minutes of play.
 
In a back-and-forth second half, Rutgers came out strong to start, as Gisonno and Paratore each collected their second scores of the game to make it just 7-6 with 26 minutes left. Ohio State would answer, but RU responded goals from Paratore and Naslonski. Naslonski spun around a host of Buckeye defenders and drilled her shot to make it 8-8 at the 20-minute portion of the half.
 
Ohio State would score three consecutive goals to regain the lead at 12-8 with 15:20 left. Senior Joanna Reilly took a pass from Puckhaber to cut into the lead and Puckhaber scored with just 1:28 to go to make it just a 12-10 lead for OSU, but the Buckeyes held on for the win.
 
Rutgers returns homes to host Niagara on Tuesday, March 27 for a 7 p.m. game at High Point Solutions Stadium.
 
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