PISCATAWAY, N.J. – No. 17 Rutgers women's lacrosse (2-0) defeated Army (0-2), 16-9, on Wednesday night at SHI Stadium. Graduate transfer
Stephanie Kelly produced a team-high six points on four assists and two goals, while graduate student
Taralyn Naslonski netted a season-high five goals to pace the Scarlet Knights' potent offensive attack.
Five RU student-athletes netted multiple goals in the win - Kelly, Naslonski and juniors
Jenna Byrne,
Ashley Campo and
Cassidy Spilis. Up just 7-5 at halftime, Rutgers outscored the Black Knights 9-4 in the second half and held the visitors scoreless in the final 15 minutes of play. The Scarlet Knights also held a 20-9 advantage on the draw, as
Meghan Ball became the third RU player this season to hit 100 draws for her career. Ball, Spilis and senior captain
Marin Hartshorn each had five draw controls in the win, as Hartshorn also produced the 100th point of her career thanks to a goal in the fourth quarter.
Sophomore goalkeeper
Sophia Cardello was strong in goal with eight saves against Army.
"It felt really good to get that win tonight," said head coach
Melissa Lehman. "That was a tough and physical Army team that we were battling through the first three quarters. Our team took over in the end and I'm really proud of the way they played tonight."
- Army opened strong against its ranked opponent, as Malina Hatton's unassisted goal with three minutes to go in the quarter tied the game at two. Rutgers responded with back-to-back goals to end the quarter, as Kelly found Naslonski and Campo to give the Scarlet Knights a 4-2 lead.
- Both teams traded goals before the break. Byrne, Naslonski and rookie Kate Carolonza added goals in the second quarter before a score from Julia Gorajek made it 7-5 heading into the locker room. Naslonski finished the half with a hat trick, while Kelly was responsible for two helpers.
- Spilis and Naslonski scored back-to-back goals out of the break, as Naslonski's goal off the nice feed from Kelly made it 9-5 in favor of Rutgers. Army would get to within two goals before an unassisted strike from Kelly made it 12-9 Scarlet Knights at the end of the third quarter.
- Rutgers closed the game with a 4-0 scoring run. Sophomore Mikayla Dever connected with Kelly with 6:40 to go, while a free-position score from Hartshorn produced the 16-9 final tally.
- Rutgers hits the road to face Georgetown on Saturday in Washington D.C. The game is set for a 3 p.m. ET start.
- Marin Hartshorn became the 26th player in program history to hit 100 points for her career. Hartshorn now owns 56 goals and 44 helpers during her impressive collegiate career.
- Ball became the 10th player in program history and third this season to secure 100 draw controls for her career after her five in the win. Hartshorn (108), Spilis (106) and Ball (104) are eighth, ninth and 10th all-time at Rutgers in the category.
- At 185 points, Naslonski moved past Brooke Cantwell for fifth all-time at Rutgers. Naslonski is just 15 points away from becoming the fourth player in RU history to produce 200 career points.
- Wednesday's win over Army was the first meeting all-time between the two programs.
