PISCATAWAY, N.J. – No. 16 Rutgers women's lacrosse (7-9) bowed out of the 2021 NCAA Tournament after its second round 20-8 loss to No. 6 Stony Brook (16-2) on Sunday afternoon at LaValle Stadium. The defeat ended one of the best seasons in program history, as the Scarlet Knights finished 2021 with their first ever NCAA postseason win, their second ever appearance at the NCAA Tournament and wins over six ranked opponents – a school record.
 
The Seawolves, who entered Sunday with one of the top scoring offenses in the country, used a 7-0 scoring run during a 13-minute stretch in the first half and forced RU into 15 turnovers en route to their win. Senior captain Taralyn Naslonski produced a team-high four points on two goals and two assists, while senior Hannah Hollingsworth and sophomore Cassidy Spilis produced two goals apiece.
 
"Stony Brook is a really strong team and they pushed the pace," said head coach Melissa Lehman. "Their fast break is deadly. Kudos to them on their victory."
 
Rutgers delivered the program's first NCAA Tournament victory in its 45 seasons of women's lacrosse two days prior when it took down No. 10 Drexel, 16-13. The victory was the Scarlet Knights' sixth over a ranked opponent this season, which also includes wins over No. 11 Maryland, No. 13 Penn State and a three-game sweep of No. 19 Ohio State.
 
In just her second season as head coach, Lehman led RU to its first IWLCA Coaches Poll ranking since the 2013 season and its highest ranking (No. 14) since 2010. Rutgers also picked up its first ever wins over Big Ten Conference foes Johns Hopkins, Maryland and Penn State and advanced to the Big Ten Tournament semifinals for just the second time since it began league play in 2015.
 
"This team just believed in each other and care so much about one another," Lehman said. "The seniors love this group and they came every day to lead by example. They never gave up and we always fought. At the end of the day, we just want to walk off this field proud and play Rutgers lacrosse."
 
Naslonski was the first to score for the Scarlet Knights, as she took a pass from sophomore Jenna Byrne to tie the game 1-1 two minutes in. Hollingsworth would add a goal seven minutes later to make it 3-2 in favor of the Seawolves, but Stony Brook closed out the half on an 8-2 run to take an 11-4 lead into halftime. Stony Brook continued its dominant play in the second half with four consecutive goals out of the locker room to secure the Seawolves trip to the NCAA quarterfinals.