EASTON, Pa. – Junior Samantha Budd scored a career-high eight goals – including the game-winner with less than a minute to go – as Rutgers women lacrosse (5-5, 0-1) defeated Lafayette (4-4, 0-1), 16-15, on Tuesday afternoon in Easton, Pennsylvania.
 
With 48 seconds left and the score tied at 15, Budd raced past a host of Leopard defenders and buried her eighth goal of the day and second of the half to secure the Scarlet Knights' fifth win of the season. Budd has now scored three or more goals in three of her last four outings, totaling 19 scores during that span.
 
"We're always happy to walk away with a win," said head coach Laura Brand Sias. "There's definitely a lot that we need to work on in the short term to be able to have a more convincing performance. But I was really happy with how Sam Budd stepped up today. She had a great game and we were really riding her performance for the duration of the game."
 
Sophomore Taralyn Naslonski tallied three points on two goals and an assist, while senior Allie Ferrara, redshirt junior Dakota Pastore and freshman Marin Hartshorn each scored twice in the victory. Rookie Julia Lytle added two assists.
 
It was a back and forth game from the opening draw, as Budd scored her first of the day at the 29 minute mark for a 1-0 lead. After Lafayette earned its first lead of the half, Budd netted an unassisted goal and then found a cutting Ferrara to regain the lead at 3-2 with 24:50 to go in the first.
 
From there, it was all Budd on the offensive end, as the West Deptford High School product collected three consecutive goals for the Scarlet Knights. Her fifth of the half – another unassisted strike – gave the lead back to the Scarlet Knights, while Pastore's goal off an assist from Naslonski made it 7-5 with 12 minutes to go before half.
 
RU added three more goals down the stretch in the first, highlighted by Budd's sixth of the day with just 45 seconds left to play, as the Scarlet Knights entered the locker room with a 10-8 lead.
 
Rutgers was the first to score in the second half, as Naslonski converted a nice unassisted goal off a spin move to give the visitors an 11-8 lead. After Lafayette scored on back-to-back opportunities, the Scarlet Knights then went on a 4-1 scoring run. Hartshorn collected two scores during the stretch, while Budd's seventh goal gave RU its largest lead of the game at 15-11 with 12 minutes to play.
 
The Leopards did not go away without a fight, as they used a 4-0 scoring run to tie the game, 15-15, with just 3:17 to play. Rutgers called a timeout after it secured a draw control, and held on for the final few possessions to set up Budd's game winner.
 
Rutgers remains on the road to face No. 17 Johns Hopkins on Saturday, March 23 in Baltimore.
 
Notes
• Rutgers improved to 12-7 all-time against Lafayette, which includes wins in the last four meetings.
• Budd earned a career-high eight goals against the Leopards, surpassing the seven-goal outing she had earlier in the month against Monmouth. Her nine points also matched a career high established against the Hawks.
• Naslonski now owns 46 points on 31 goals and 15 assists, tied with Stephanie Anderson for the most points in a single season since 2012.
• Naslonski has scored two or more goals in nine of her 10 games this season, including seven games of three goals or more and three with four goals or more.
 
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