PISCATAWAY, N.J. – No. 17 Rutgers women's lacrosse (1-0) opened its 2022 season with a convincing 16-8 win over Delaware (0-1) on Saturday in Newark. Graduate student
Taralyn Naslonski netted a game-high four goals, while graduate student
Stephanie Kelly and senior
Marin Hartshorn contributed four points apiece in the victory.
The win was the fourth consecutive for the Scarlet Knights in the all-time series with the Blue Hens.
RU never trailed in the game, outshot the Blue Hens, 35-19, and caused 17 turnovers. Junior
Cassidy Spilis produced a hat trick to go along with four draw controls, two ground balls and two caused turnovers. Classmate
Meghan Ball added a game-high five draw controls and three caused turnovers.
Rutgers was especially dominant on the draw with a 16-10 advantage off the restart. Hartshorn and Spilis each collected the 100th draw control of their respective careers, while Ball's game-high six draw controls gave her 99 career draws.
Sophomore goalkeeper
Sophia Cardello earned the first win of the season with six saves.
- Rutgers scored first during morning action, as sophomore Mikayla Dever found Hartshorn for the first goal of the 2022 season. Delaware responded with a score of its own before the Scarlet Knights worked a 3-0 scoring run. Kelly dished her first assist "On the Banks" to Spilis, while Naslonski added back-to-back goals to give RU a 4-1 lead with 3:51 left in the quarter.
- The Blue Hens would add one more before Naslosnki closed the quarter with her third goal – this one off the free-position attempt. RU held a 5-2 lead after the first quarter, as it outshot Delaware, 9-4, in the first 15 minutes of action.
- RU outscored the Blue Hens, 5-0, in the second quarter, as Spills spun and scored for her second of the day with 13:28 to go to start the run. Hartshorn, Kelly, Naslonski and junior Jenna Byrne all found the back of the cage during the stretch, as the Scarlet Knights entered halftime with a 10-2 lead. Cardello was strong for Rutgers in the quarter with four saves to lead the shutout effort in the quarter.
- Rutgers kept control into the third quarter and added five goals to its ledger. Five different Scarlet Knights scored in the quarter, including the first goals of the season for juniors Ashley Campo and Janey Galski. Galski's goal late in the quarter made it a 15-3 advantage.
- With the game in hand, rookie Emalie Clothier netted the first goal of her career for RU's final score of the day. Delaware would score five in the final minutes before the 16-8 score went final.
- Rutgers hosts Army on Wednesday, Feb. 16 at SHI Stadium. The matchup begins at 5 p.m. and will stream on Big Ten Network. Admission to all 2022 Rutgers women's lacrosse games is free.
