NEWARK, Del. – Trailing by five goals at halftime, Rutgers women's lacrosse (3-1) completed a come-from-behind 12-11 overtime thriller over Delaware (1-2) Saturday afternoon in Newark. After rookie Marin Hartshorn tied the game with less than a minute to go in regulation, sophomore Taralyn Naslonski converted a free-position attempt in overtime to secure RU's third win of the season and first on the road in 2019.
 
The story of the game was Rutgers' defense. After allowing 11 goals in the first half, the Scarlet Knights did not surrender a goal in the final 31:12 minutes of regulation. The impressive defensive performance was spearheaded by rookie goalie Kameron Halsall, who came off the bench and made nine second-half saves and 11 overall during her breakout outing.
 
Halsall's biggest stop came with 1:19 left in the second half. Facing a free-positon attempt from Delaware's Christine Long, Halsall made a beautiful stick save to give Rutgers the final possession of regulation. The Scarlet Knights came down the field, and with 45 seconds left, junior Samantha Budd found Hartshorn, who converted the game-tying score to force overtime.
 
Naslonski once again filled the stat sheet with seven points on four assists and three goals, while senior Allie Ferrara added four goals, including one to make it a one-goal game with 10:07 left to play. Redshirt junior Dakota Pastore and sophomore Hannah Hollingsworth also had two goals apiece in the win.
 
On defense, seniors Christine DiLullo and Regina Sharp each had three ground balls, while Sharp caused a team-high two turnovers. Naslonski led the way with four draw controls.
 
It was a back-and-forth affair in the first 15 minutes of the game, as Naslonski found a cutting Pastore to give Rutgers an early 1-0 in the opening minute. Delaware would go on a 3-1 scoring run before the Scarlet Knights responded with a quick 3-0 run of their own. Pastore found Ferrara to even the score at 3-3, while back-to-back goals from Naslonski gave RU a 5-3 lead with 18:12 to go in the half.
 
The Blue Hens used an 8-1 scoring run in the final 18 minutes of the half to take an 11-6 lead into the locker room, as the host outshot RU, 16-11, in the first 30 minutes. Halsall, who was plugged into the game at the 8:27 mark in the first half, produced two impressive saves down the stretch in the opening period.
 
It was all Rutgers in the second half, as the Scarlet Knights converted on the limited scoring opportunities Delaware gave them. Hartshorn found Ferrara and Pastore for back-to-back goals, while Hollingworth's second of the game made it just an 11-9 game with 11:15 to go.
 
With the momentum in RU's favor, Ferrara's goal at the 10:07 mark made brought the deficit to one, as both defenses settled in for the final 10 minutes of action. The Scarlet Knights limited Delaware to just four shots during the final stanza, with Halsall saving all four Blue Hen attempts.
 
Rutgers returns home to host No. 11 UPenn on Wednesday at 6 p.m.
 
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