PISCATAWAY, N.J. – No. 24 Rutgers women's lacrosse used another second-half comeback to defeat No. 19 Ohio State, 10-9, on Sunday afternoon in Piscataway. Tied 9-9 with just over four minutes to play, junior Marin Hartshorn found Hannah Hollingsworth for the game-winning goal to help complete the two-game sweep of the Buckeyes.
 
"Marin has unbelievable vision and our offense kept everyone occupied, so I was able to cut through the backside," Hollingsworth said. "Marin was able to find me and the rest was just me finishing the play."
 
Down 7-5 at halftime, RU used a 5-2 scoring run in the second half to earn back-to-back ranked wins for the first time since 2016. Sophomores Jenna Byrne and Cassidy Spilis produced hat tricks in the win, while Byrne added a team-high two assists. Rutgers' defense allowed just two goals in the second half for the second consecutive game, as Meghan Ball caused a game-high three turnovers, including a crucial stop with under two minutes to play to prevent Ohio State from getting an opportunity to tie.
 
Rutgers once again won the 50/50 battle against Ohio State, this time by a 13-9 margin, and forced 12 visitor turnovers. Freshman goalkeeper Sophia Cardello started the second half in cage for the Scarlet Knights and recorded four stops to earn her first collegiate win.
 
"We knew that with seeing each other just two days prior it was going to come down to which team could fight it out for 60 minutes," said head coach Melissa Lehman. "With little downtime between games, it was about the fight and finding that extra one percent today."
 
First Half
Rutgers recorded its first lead of the afternoon when senior captain Taralyn Naslonski found Byrne in the first three minutes for a 1-0 lead. Ohio State responded with a 3-0 scoring run before Spilis netted her first of the day off the pass from redshirt freshman Grace Curran. Rookie Mikayla Dever then came from behind cage to tie the game at 3-3 with 15 minutes left in the first half. Rutgers would regain the lead down the stretch, but another 3-0 scoring run in the final four minutes gave OSU a 7-5 lead at halftime.
 
Second Half
Defense was the name again once again for Rutgers in the second half, as it allowed just two goals in the final 30 minutes of play for the second consecutive game. Byrne found sophomore Ashley Campo twice during a 3-0 scoring run to help Rutgers regain the lead 8-7 at the 22:32 mark in the half. The game featured back-to-back ties before Hollingsworth converted the dish from Hartshorn for a 10-7 lead with 4:39 to go in the game. Ohio State had a chance to send the game to overtime in the final minute, but a Buckeye turnover on a high pass helped the Scarlet Knights secure the win.  
 
Notes

• Earned back-to-back wins over ranked opponents for the first time since the 2016 season when it defeated three consecutive ranked foes.
• Spilis recorded her fourth consecutive hat trick

Up Next
Rutgers faces No. 17 Michigan for back-to-back games on March 5 and March 7 in Ann Arbor.