PISCATAWAY, N.J. – No. 24 Rutgers women's lacrosse (3-7) hosts No. 13 Penn State (4-6) on Thursday at SHI Stadium. The game is slated for a 3 p.m. ET start and will stream live via BTNPlus.
• In accordance with the Big Ten Conference and Governor's Office policies, SHI Stadium will operate at 15 percent capacity for Rutgers women's lacrosse's remaining two home games against Penn State (Thursday, April 15) and Maryland (Sunday, April 18). Please click
here to access important information on how to attend this weekend's games.
• The Scarlet Knights dropped a pair of road games at Maryland (14-12) and Johns Hopkins (17-10) this past weekend.
• Junior
Marin Hartshorn produced a career-high eight points on five assists and three goals against Maryland, as Hartshorn, senior
Hannah Hollingsworth and sophomore
Cassidy Spilis netted hat tricks against the Terrapins.
• RU's two-goal loss was the closest game the program has played against Maryland in the schools' 21-game series history. Rutgers and Maryland have now met seven times since both joining the Big Ten, with the next closest margin coming in a 14-6 loss in 2018.
• RU is ranked No.23 in this week's IWLCA Coaches Poll, marking the eighth consecutive week for RU in the rankings. Rutgers has been ranked as high as No. 14 in the country this season, as second-year head coach
Melissa Lehman has the program ranked for the first time since 2013.
• The Scarlet Knights are currently sixth in the Big Ten heading into the final week of the regular season. All seven teams will qualify for the Big Ten Tournament this year, held from Thursday, April 29 to Sunday, May 2 at Penn State.
• Sophomores
Meghan Ball and
Cassidy Spilis were named Inside Lacrosse Midseason All-Americans, announced last week by the publication. Both earned honorable mention distinctions after standout performances to begin the 2021 season, with Ball and Spilis also included on the Tewaaraton Award watch list earlier this spring.
• Spilis is fifth in the Big Ten Conference with 27 goals in 10 games and has scored three or more goals five times this season, including a career-high seven goals in Rutgers' 13-10 win over Johns Hopkins on Feb. 21 in Baltimore.
• Ball has enjoyed a breakout second season "On the Banks", sitting within the top 10 of the Big Ten in draw controls (33), ground balls (23) and caused turnovers (15).
• Senior
Taralyn Naslonski now owns 151 career points, good for No. 9 all-time at Rutgers. She needs two points to surpass Connie Williams (1979-82) for eighth and five to surpass Brand Bailey (1994-97) for seventh.
• The Nittany Lions earned a 16-9 win over Maryland this past Sunday in their last time out, as freshman Kristin O'Neill recorded six points, including a career-high five goals, in the win.
• Maria Auth leads the team in points with 33, while O'Neill is first in goals with 25. Olivia Dirks is second in the Big Ten with 58 draw controls.
• Taylor Suplee is 3-6 in cage this season with a 14.27 goals against average and a .428 save percentage.
• Penn State leads the all-time series with Rutgers, 21-0. Penn State won, 20-11, in the season opener on Feb. 14 in University Park.
• Rutgers closes the regular season against Maryland on Sunday in Piscataway. The 3 p.m. ET contest will serve as senior day.
