2019 Women’s Lacrosse Season Preview

Photo by: Rich Graessle

Feb 06 | Women's Lacrosse

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Scarlet Knights look to rise in competitive Big Ten Conference

PISCATAWAY, N.J. – With the 2019 season just days away, Rutgers women's lacrosse enters the 2019 campaign with optimism it will improve on last year's 7-10 record. Based on the players returning as well as an influx of talented underclassman, head coach Laura Brand Sias is excited about what the spring has in store for the Scarlet Knights.

"In terms of team culture, we're in a really good spot," Brand Sias said. "We made really significant changes starting this September and the team has done a really great job of evolving with those changes and really buying into the things that our coaching staff has been asking of them."

With the announcement of the new leadership council this season, head coach Laura Brand Sias is eager to see how the upperclassmen continue to motivate @rulaxbrand on and off the field in 2019. pic.twitter.com/XjrJuulxwB
— Big Ten Lacrosse (@B1GLacrosse) January 29, 2019

That coaching staff features first-year defensive coordinator Mike Bedford, who arrived in Piscataway this past summer after helping Boston University to 10 wins and an appearance in the 2018 Patriot League semifinals. Nicole Graziano, who will call the offense, is now in her third season on staff after a standout collegiate career at the University of Florida.

Brand Sias, Bedford and Graziano will have plenty of talent to work with, as RU returns seven starters from last year's team that raced out to a 4-2 start and closed last season with a thrilling overtime victory against Michigan under the lights at HighPoint.com Stadium on BTN.

Attack
On attack, Rutgers has a substantial amount of talent to work with when it opens its season on Friday against LIU Brooklyn, beginning with senior captain Abbey Brooks and sophomore Taralyn Naslonski. Brooks led the team last season with 16 assists, with her 1.00-per-game average fifth in the Big Ten Conference. The Moorestown High School product, who has accounted for 72 points during her collegiate career, also had 17 goals in 2018 for a total of 33 points, the third-best total last spring.

"She's made big strides and she gets what her role is going to be," Brand Sias said. "She's embracing being that leader on the field and really maturing into more of a leadership responsibility and it's reflecting in her play. She's a lot more aggressive in her play and a lot more confident in her play which is what we need from her."

Naslonski will also be called upon to have a large role in Rutgers' offensive production after a rookie season that saw her play in all 17 games for the Scarlet Knights in 2018. The Randolph High School product tied for second on the team with 24 goals and was fourth with 31 points.

Naslonski really hit her stride at the end of the season as she closed out the year with 12 points and 10 goals in her final three Big Ten games. In the season finale against Johns Hopkins, she netted a career-high seven points and six goals, as she was named Big Ten Rookie of the Week. It was the second time she collected weekly recognition from the conference.

"She's just got such natural explosive ability. The things that she brings to the table, especially the things she brought to the table last year, are just kind of naturally what she does," Brand Sias said. "She's just so competitive and wants to play every second of every opportunity she can to play lacrosse. So now we're in that next phase of things, we know that she has those attributes and now how are we going to develop her and really develop her game and kind of get her lax IQ up to speed so that she can break down defenders in different ways."

Senior Allie Ferrara, who was sixth on the team with 15 goals in 2018, will also have a role on the attack, while juniors Jordan Drab and Christina Petito also add experience. After sitting out last season to develop, sophomore Hannah Hollingsworth – a former top-100 recruit out of Bridgewater-Raritan High School – is also expected to contribute right away, as is redshirt freshman Monica Dresnin.

Midfield
The midfield features arguably the program's most dangerous weapon in junior Samantha Budd. A 2019 Big Ten Preseason Player to Watch, Budd led the team in draw controls (54) and co-led in points (37) and goals (30) in 2018. The talented midfielder had seven games with two or more points last spring, which included a career-high seven points and six goals in the win at Monmouth. Budd also scored in each Big Ten game, and added two points in the overtime thriller over the Wolverines.

Budd will be called upon to have an impact on the draw, a role she has demonstrated she can handle. Her 3.2 draw controls-per-game were eighth in the conference, while her career-high 12 draw controls in last year's season opener at Temple also tied a program record.

"She's a great player and she's great on all sides of the ball," Brand Sias said. "She's great on the draw. She's really coming into her own and developing with her experience, so she's a big part of what we do for sure. And I think she still has so much room to grow so that's something that's super exciting. We're trying to really diversify her game this year to put her in more threatening spots."

While Budd will be the focus of opposing team's scouting reports, there are other talented pieces a midfield. After missing the entire 2018 campaign due to injury, redshirt junior Dakota Pastore returns after starting all 16 games in 2017. Senior Amanda Romano has played in 17 games during her tenure at Rutgers, while classmate Tess Howland adds experience with eight games played in 2018. Sophomore Julia Lytle appeared in six games at the position as a rookie.

Defense
The defensive side of the field features the most experience on the roster, as four starters from last season return. The unit is led by redshirt senior captain and 2019 Big Ten Player to Watch Christine DiLullo, who finished second on the team with 32 ground balls along with six caused turnovers in 17 starts last spring.

Senior Regina Sharp also enjoyed success in 2018, as the Suffern, New York, native led the team with 40 ground balls and was second with 26 caused turnovers. DiLullo, Sharp and juniors Jenna Martinelli and Brianna Cirino started every game for Brand Sias in 2018, something she says can only help the program this season.

"It's definitely good experience-wise, but we do want to make significant strides from where we've ranked defensively in previous years so making some changes there, we've got some different looks and different ways to play and put some of our players in a position to be a little bit more disruptive than we have been in the past," Brand Sias said.

With Mike [Bedford] being new to staff, there's new things that are being brought to the table from his side of things so it's great to have that experience and we need them to really help some of our younger players develop as the season goes on. But we're hoping to have a pretty different identity on the defensive side of the ball this year."

Brand Sias also expects junior Samantha Scarpello and sophomores Dana Pena and Jacquelyn Jester to contribute. Scarpello appeared in two games last season and was named the team's Big Ten Sportsmanship Award recipient.

Goalkeepers
Senior Devon Kearns returns between the pipes after she produced 137 saves and six wins in 16 starts last season. Her impressive junior campaign included a career-high 15 saves against Villanova and Ohio State in 2018, as the Marlton, New Jersey, native finished fifth in the conference with 7.94 saves-per-game.

Sophomore Kameron Halsall, who sat out last season, will also push for playing time at that position. A four-year letterwinner at The Hill Academy in Ontario, Canada, Halsall was one of 25 players named to the Canada 2017 FIL Women's Lacrosse World Cup roster and has national team experience.

"Devon, our returning starter from last year, enjoyed a nice preseason and in the fall," Brand Sias said. "What's really nice about this position is that she and Kam are in a heated battle. Devin is getting pushed by Kam, who is getting better every day, and is really invested in her development and that, in turn, is pushing Devon to be better as well."

Rookies
Ten newcomers joined the program this past summer – Riley Ban, Sarah Cedarstrand, Maggie Garvey, Marin Hartshorn, Caroline Perry, Mackenzie Porter, Camryn Rogers, Shannon Siebold, Alexis Watson and Linda Zamrowski. Brand Sias expects the group to have an immediate impact this season.

"It's been an evolution, and I think their first taste of college lacrosse was a little bit of a shell shock for them, but there's definitely people in that group that are stepping up and really showing what they can do and are pushing other people to raise their talent level and to raise their game," Brand Sias said.

The Schedule
Rutgers will play 16 regular-season games in 2019, a slate that is one of the toughest in the country.

The schedule includes six conference matchups and games against six opponents who appear in the IWLCA Preseason Coaches Poll. Those teams include No. 2 Maryland, 2018 national champion and No. 4 James Madison, No. 7 Northwestern, No. 10 Pennsylvania, No. 12 Penn State and No. 23 Johns Hopkins.

"I think this year's schedule is one that can really help us develop," Brand Sias said. "We've got great competition throughout but we've got some good peaks and valleys in terms of the types of teams we're going to be seeing and maybe some variations in the types of pressure that we're going to see and things like that. And our hope is use that to develop players and then also be putting whoever's playing at that time in situations to be going up against really competitive teams."

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 (@rulaxbrand) 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. For additional updates, please download the Gameday App.