Women’s Lacrosse Hosts No. 12 UPenn Wednesday

Wednesday, February 27

6 PM

Rutgers University

University of Pennsylvania

Photo by: Rich Graessle

Women’s Lacrosse Hosts No. 12 UPenn Wednesday

Feb 26 | Women's Lacrosse

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Scarlet Knights take on first ranked foe of 2019 at HighPoint.com Stadium

PISCATAWAY, N.J. – Fresh off its overtime victory last weekend, Rutgers women's lacrosse (3-1, 0-0) returns home to host No. 12 UPenn (2-0, 0-0) for a 6 p.m. showdown Wednesday night at HighPoint.com Stadium. The game will stream live on BTN2Go, with Lou Brogno and Dom Savino on the call.

The Quakers, who check in at No. 12 in this week's IWLCA Coaches Poll, marks the first of seven ranked foes on the schedule for the Scarlet Knights in 2019. RU is also scheduled to face No. 2 Maryland (March 30), No. 5 Northwestern (March 14), No. 6 James Madison (March 10), No. 8 Penn State (April 27), No. 16 Johns Hopkins (March 23) and No. 20 Michigan (April 13) this season.

Giveaways & Promotions
International Students Day

Last Time Out
Trailing by five goals at halftime, Rutgers completed a come-from-behind 12-11 overtime thriller over Delaware last Saturday 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.

Scouting UPenn
UPenn enters Wednesday's game after it downed then-No. 17 Johns Hopkins, 11-10, in overtime on Saturday in Baltimore. The Quakers rallied from down two in the second half and finished with a golden-goal winner from junior Erin Barry.

Through two games, Gabby Rosenzweig leads the UPenn offense in points (12), assists (7) and goals (5). Barry and Zoe Belodeau have also contributed five goals apiece.
Rosenzweig was named the Ivy League Offensive Player of the Week after her three-goal, one-assist outing against JHU, while goalie Mikaila Cheeseman was named the conference Defensive Player of the Week.

Series History
UPenn leads the all-time series, 10-9, which includes wins in the last five meetings. RU's last win against the Quakers came on March 6, 2013, a 6-5 victory in Piscataway.

Last season, Rutgers lost to No. 15/12 UPenn, 19-9, on Feb. 28, 2018 at Franklin Field in Philadelphia. Naslonski and then-senior captain Kerri Puckhaber each produced two goals to pace the Scarlet Knights' offense.

Naslonski on the National Scene
Naslonski has been one of the most dangerous offensive players in the country through the first few weeks of the season. The Randolph, New Jersey, native is tied for fourth in the NCAA with 12 assists, tied for fifth with 24 points, and tied for seventh in points-per-game (6.00) and assists-per-game (3.00). Naslonski is also tied for 30^th with 12 goals scored, good for 3.00 goals-per-game.

Halsall Breaks Out
Halsall shined in her last outing off the bench against Delaware, as she recorded a career-high 11 saves. Nine of those came in the second half, as Halsall helped RU shutout the Blue Hens in the second half and overtime.

Within the B1G
Naslonski leads the conference in assists-per-game (3.00), is tied for first in points-per-game (6.00) and is seventh with three goals scored per outing.

In cage, Halsall is first with a 2.96 GAA and tied for sixth with 5.67 saves-per-game. On the draw, Hartshorn is third with 4.5 draw controls-per-game, while Budd is 10^th with 3.3 per game.

Up Next
Rutgers heads to Philadelphia to take on Drexel on Saturday, March 2 at noon.

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