BALTIMORE, Md. – Rutgers women's lacrosse picked up a signature victory as it defeated Johns Hopkins, 13-10, on Sunday in Baltimore. The win marked the first in the series history, as head coach Melissa Lehman earned her first Big Ten Conference victory as head coach since taking over the program last season.
 
Down three at halftime, the Scarlet Knights closed out the game on an 8-2 scoring run to earn their first victory over the Blue Jays, who entered Sunday with a 5-0 lead in the all-time series. Sophomore Cassidy Spilis recorded a career-high eight points on seven goals and an assist, which included four goals in the second half. A 2021 Big Ten Preseason Player to Watch, Spilis now has 11 goals in her first two games of the season.
 
Junior captain Marin Hartshorn and sophomore Ashley Campo added to goals apiece, while sophomore Jenna Byrne produced three points on two helpers and a score. Sophomore goalkeeper Alonna Gliksman registered a season-high eight saves for her first win of the season. Rutgers used a 13-11 advantage on draw controls, which included an 8-3 performance after haltime, and held JHU to just six shot attempts in the second half after it registered 24 in the first 30 minutes.

"I'm so proud of our effort and the team's belief to stay in the game," Lehman said. "We knew this was going to be a 60 minute game and it showed. At halftime, our message was to win the 50/50 balls and it was a key for our success today. I was proud of our defensive performance and our team never doubted they had an opportunity to win."
 
First Half
Rutgers got off to a strong start, as back-to-back goals from Spilis had the Scarlet Knights up 2-0 five minutes into the game. JHU rattled off five consecutive goals before Hartshorn and Spilis added consecutive score to make it just a one-goal game with 11 minutes to go. The Blue Jays responded with a 3-0 scoring run, but RU brought momentum into the locker room after Spilis found senior captain Hannah Hollingsworth for a goal at the buzzer, as Rutgers trailed by just three goals, 8-5, at the break.  
 
Despite a strong opening attack from JHU, which included 24 shots, Gliksman registered six saves in the first half.
 
Second Half
Rutgers went right to work out of halftime, as Campo and Spilis fueled a 3-0 scoring run to tie the game back at eight. Hollingsworth found a cutting Campo a minute into the half, while Spilis netted two consecutive goals, including a driving score off the pass from senior captain Julia Lytle, to make it 8-8 with just under 26 minutes to play.
 
After JHU regained its lead, Rutgers allowed just one goal over the final 24 minutes of play as it took control down the stretch. Byrne tied the game at 10-10 with an unassisted strike and followed with an assist to Campo to regain the lead for good. Back-to-back scores from Spilis and Hartshorn would put the game away, as Rutgers left Homewood field with the win.
 
Notes

• Head coach Melissa Lehman recorded her first Big Ten Conference win since she was named head coach prior to the 2020 season.
• Rutgers defeated Johns Hopkins for the first time in program history, with the series dating back to the 2015 season. The closest RU ever came to defeating the Blue Jays was a 16-11 loss at home in 2018.
• Cassidy Spilis produced career game-highs in points (8) and goals (7). The sophomore now has eight career games with three or more goals, including back-to-back three-or-more goal outings to begin 2021.
• Spilis also produced team highs in draw controls (4) and caused turnovers (2) in the win. Her seven goals came on seven attempts, an unblemished 100% shooting percentage.

Up Next
Rutgers returns home to host Ohio State for a two-game weekend series, with games scheduled for Friday, Feb. 26 (3 p.m.) and Sunday, Feb. 28 (Noon).