PISCATAWAY, N.J. – No. 14 Rutgers women's lacrosse (4-0) delivered a decisive 17-6 victory over Lehigh (0-2) on Saturday afternoon at SHI Stadium. Graduate student Taralyn Naslonski and junior Cassidy Spilis tallied five goals apiece, junior Ashley Campo dished a team-high three helpers, while the Scarlet Knights' defense held its opponent to 10 goals or less for the third time in four outings this season.

RU jumped out to an 8-1 lead in the first quarter and never looked back, as the home squad outshot the visitor, 42-25. Rutgers' defense was also solid through four quarters, as it forced Lehigh into 19 turnovers. Junior Meghan Ball caused a game-high four turnovers, while Spilis added three caused turnovers and three ground balls. Sophomore goalkeeper Sophia Cardello stopped a season-high 12 shots en route to her third win of the season. Rutgers also held an impressive 17-9 advantage on the restart, as Ball secured seven draw controls while senior Marin Hartshorn added five.

The Scarlet Knights are now 4-0 for the second time in three seasons under head coach Melissa Lehman. Rutgers registered its fourth win all-time against the Mountain Hawks, as RU last won versus Lehigh during the 1990 campaign.

"I thought we came out ready to go," Lehman said. "We spoke about being in control from the start, and I was very happy with how we began today. Our play on the draw certainly helped, and overall we were aggressive all over the field and made those hustle plays."
 
RU opened the day with back-to-back goals from its captains, as Spilis connected on a free-position shot while Naslonski followed on an unassisted goal for a quick 2-0 lead in the first three minutes. Lehigh responded with a goal, but the Scarlet Knights closed the quarter with a 6-0 scoring run Six different student-athletes scored during the stretch, which included individual goals from Hartshorn, sophomore Ashley Moynahan and rookie Emalie Clothier. Naslonski added two consecutive free-position goals and Spilis spun her way for a score to give Rutgers an 8-1 lead after the first 15 minutes.

The Scarlet Knights allowed Lehigh to score three times in the second quarter, as they took a 10-4 lead into halftime. 

RU held control for the entire second half, scoring three goals out of halftime to put the game all but out of reach. Hartshorn, Naslonski and Spilis all produced goals out of the break to give Rutgers its largest lead of the day - a 13-4 advantage with 10:34 left in the third. The Scarlet Knights added three goals in the fourth en route to its 17-6 win.
 
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Rutgers hosts Monmouth on Wednesday, March 2 at 5 p.m. ET.