PISCATAWAY, N.J. – No. 24 Rutgers women's lacrosse (5-7) added another significant win to its record book, as it downed No. 11 Maryland (7-5), 16-14, on Sunday for the first time in program history. The Scarlet Knights have now defeated three teams for the first time this season, as they also recorded wins over Penn State and Johns Hopkins in 2021.
Prior to the game, RU honored its six seniors –
Brooke Baldelli,
Hannah Hollingsworth,
Jacquelyn Jester,
Julia Lytle,
Taralyn Naslonski and
Dana Pena – and also recognized the 2020 senior class, whose season was cut short last spring due to the COVID-19 Pandemic.
"They've been leaders during one of the toughest years imaginable," said head coach
Melissa Lehman, who has led the program to its most Big Ten Conference wins since Rutgers joined the league in 2015. "They just pour their heart and soul into this program and you see it on the field. We're so pumped for them."
Save for a late rally from the Terrapins, who entered the weekend as the sport's reigning NCAA Champions, RU dictated the pace of the entire game thanks to outshooting UMD, 36-31. Naslonski and junior
Marin Hartshorn tallied a team-high five points apiece, while rookie goalkeeper
Sophia Cardello stopped a career-high 10 shots to help Rutgers hold Maryland to just four goals in the first half.
Five Scarlet Knights – Naslonski (4), sophomore
Cassidy Spilis (3), Hartshorn (2), sophomore
Ashley Campo (2) and freshman
Ashley Moynahan (2) – contributed multiple goals in the winning effort. Sophomore
Jenna Byrne also contributed three points on two helpers to demonstrate RU's balanced offensive attack.
The win also avenged a tough loss to Maryland last weekend in College Park, as RU tied the game late before the Terrapins added two goals in the closing minutes for a 14-12 win.
"We started strong today and knew we could finish," Lehman said. "The defense in the first half was some of the best we've played all season, and we were efficient on the offensive side of the ball and played together. We've gained some momentum here at the end of the regular season and I could not me more proud of this team."
The game was back and forth in the first 10 minutes for Rutgers closed out the half on a 6-0 run. Six different Scarlet Knights scored during the stretch, which included a goal from Lytle off the feed from Hartshorn to make it 8-4 at the half. RU was outstanding on both sides of the field in the opening half, as it outshot the visitors, 23-12, and allowed Maryland few clean looks at cage. When the Terrapins did have scoring opportunities, Cardello stepped up with five saves in the first half, while sophomore
Meghan Ball forced three turnovers to send Rutgers into the locker room with momentum.
Maryland scored the first two goals out of the break before Spilis converted a free position attempt to give RU a 9-6 lead. UMD would counter with a 3-0 run to tie it at 9-9, but Rutgers responded with its own 7-0 run. Moynahan, Naslonski and Spilis each scored twice during the stretch, with Moynahan's unassisted goal off the nice fake in front of the cage gave Rutgers a 16-9 lead with nine minutes to go.
The Terrapins would make it a game down the stretch, as they scored five goals in the final four minutes to make it a two-goal game. However, Rutgers won the final draw of the evening to walk away with its first win over Maryland in the 21-game series.
UP NEXT
Rutgers gets a week off from play before it opens the Big Ten Tournament from April 29-May 2 in University Park, Pa.
