UPDATE (Friday, March 11 @ 12:30 p.m.) - Due to inclement weather expected for the region, this game has been moved to Sunday, March 13 at 1 p.m. and will be played on the Sentara Park turf field.

PISCATAWAY, N.J. – No. 13 Rutgers women's lacrosse (7-0) remains on the road this week when it faces No. 21 James Madison on Saturday in Harrisonburg, Virginia. First draw is slated for a 1 p.m. ET start. There will be no stream of Saturday's game, but fans can listen to the action via the Varsity Network App.
 
Last Time Out
The Scarlet Knights muscled a road win at No. 18 Temple (5-2), 15-9, on Wednesday night in Philadelphia. The victory continued RU's best start to a season in its history and marked its first win over a ranked opponent during the 2022 campaign.
 
Graduate student Stephanie Kelly dished out a season-best six assists against the Owls, while classmate Taralyn Naslonski added a team-high five goals in the win. Senior Marin Hartshorn, juniors Jenna Byrne and Cassidy Spilis and sophomore Kate Carolonza each had two goals apiece, with Spilis two scorers giving her 100 for her career. With her five-goal outing, Naslonski passed Heather Jones (206; 1991-94) for third all-time in points at Rutgers with 207.
 
Junior Meghan Ball – the Big Ten Conference's reigning two-time Defensive Player of the Week – secured six draw controls and added two caused turnovers. Junior Ashley Campo and sophomore Ashley Moynahan also added two caused turnovers, and sophomore Sophia Cardello stopped six shots for her sixth win of the season.
 
In the Rankings
Rutgers moved up two spots to No. 12 in this week's Nike/USA Lacrosse Top 20 and one spot to No. 13 in the ILWomen/IWLCA Coaches poll. The rankings are the highest for the program in its history. Five Big Ten programs are ranked after the first two weeks of the season – No. 4 Maryland, No. 5 Northwestern, No. 8 Michigan, No. 13 Rutgers and No. 16 Johns Hopkins.
 
Ball Gets Deserved Recognition
Ball - one of the top defenders in the country through the first seven games of the season - was added to the 2022 Tewaaraton Award Watch List, announced by the organization on Thursday. Ball also earned Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week accolades for the second consecutive week, announced Tuesday by the conference. 

Ball has been a defensive force for the Scarlet Knights during the first seven games of the 2022 campaign, as she leads the team in draw controls (41), ground balls (20) and caused turnovers (17). Ball has secured six or more draw controls in five games this season and has caused multiple turnovers in five outings.

Scouting James Madison
The Dukes enter Saturday's game with a 3-3 record after they lost at Penn State, 14-10, on Wednesday in their last time out. The loss snapped JMU's three-game winning streak, as it defeated No. 23 UConn, High Point and Ohio State during the stretch.

Isaella Peterson leads the team in points (27) and goals (21), while Katie Checkosky has dished out a team-high nine helpers. Peterson has secured 27 draw controls, and Mairead Durkin has caused 18 turnovers. Molly Doughert is the goalie of record with a 9.81 goals-against-average and a .481 save percentage.
 
Series vs. James Madison
James Madison leads the all-time series with Rutgers, 6-2. JMU won the last meeting, 16-5, on Saturday, March 7 in Piscataway.
 
Up Next
Rutgers faces No. 4 Maryland on Sunday, March 20 in College Park. The game is slated for a noon start on ESPNU.