PISCATAWAY, N.J. – Rutgers women's lacrosse (4-3, 0-0) travels south for its next contest, as it faces reigning national champion and No. 7 James Madison (5-1, 0-0) on Sunday in Harrisonburg, Virginia.
 
The Dukes, who check in at No. 7 in this week's IWLCA Coaches Poll, begin a stretch for the Scarlet Knights featuring ranked foes in four of the next five games. RU is also schedule to face No. 5 Northwestern (March 14), No. 17 Johns Hopkins (March 23) and No. 2 Maryland (March 30) during that span.  
 
Last Time Out
The Scarlet Knights returned to the win column in their last time out, as they downed in-state rival Monmouth, 18-13, on Wednesday at HighPoint.com Stadium. RU outshot the Hawks, 44-36, as junior Samantha Budd led the way with a career-high nine points and seven goals.
 
Sophomore Taralyn Naslonski added four goals in the win for her team-leading fifth hat trick of the season, while her seven draw controls marked a career high.
 
On defense, junior Samantha Scarpello had a career-high eight ground balls and three caused turnovers. Entered off the bench early in the first half, senior Devon Kearns earned the win with a season-high eight saves, which included seven stops in the final 30 minutes.
 
Scouting James Madison
The Dukes enter Saturday's game after a come-from-behind 11-9 victory over No. 19 Penn State Wednesday night in University Park. JMU used a 7-0 scoring run and a career-high 19 saves from goalie Molly Dougherty to defeat the host Nittany Lions.
 
Through six games, Hannah Haven leads James Madison with 28 points on 12 goals and 16 assists, while Logan Brennan leads in goals with 15.
 
Dougherty is ninth in the country with a .543 save percentage and 20th with an 8.97 GAA, having stopped 57 shots this season.  
 
Series History
Rutgers is 2-4 all-time against the Dukes, with the programs meeting each season since 2014. Last season, JMU secured a 16-8 victory in Piscataway, while the Scarlet Knights earned a 12-9 win at James Madison on the road in 2017 when the host was ranked No. 18 in the country.
 
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 fifth in the NCAA in points (36), tied for seventh in goal (23) and tied for 12th in assists (13).
 
Within the B1G
Through seven games, Naslonski is second in the Big Ten Conference in points-per-game (5.14), assists-per-game (1.86) and tied for third in goals-per-game (3.29). After her nine-point outburst on Wednesday, Budd is sixth in the league with 3.57 points-per-game, while on the draw, rookie Marin Hartshorn is tied for fifth with 4.0 draws-per-game and Naslonski is ninth at 3.6.
 
Up Next
Rutgers begins Big Ten Conference play when it hosts No. 5 Northwestern on Thursday, March 14 at 7 p.m.
 
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