COLLEGE PARK, Md. – No. 12 Rutgers women's lacrosse (8-1, 0-1), lost at No. 4 Maryland (7-0, 1-0), 16-6, on Sunday afternoon in College Park, Maryland. The Scarlet Knights were within two goals midway through the third quarter before the Terrapins closed out their victory with a 9-1 scoring run. The loss snapped RU's 8-0 start to begin the year, its best start to a season in its 46-year history.

It marked Rutgers' third consecutive road game against a ranked foe, as it also delivered wins at No. 18 Temple (March 9) and No. 21 James Madison (March 13) prior to Sunday's loss. The 1,026 in attendance at Maryland's Field Hockey and Lacrosse Complex was the biggest crowd the Scarlet Knights have played in front of this season.

Senior captain Marin Hartshorn and junior captain Cassidy Spilis both produced hat tricks, while graduate student captain Stephanie Kelly added a team-high two assists to pace Rutgers' offense. 

Junior Meghan Ball secured a game-high five draw controls to help the Scarlet Knights to an impressive 17-9 advantage over Maryland in that category. Ball also added three ground balls and two caused turnovers. Rookie Madison Karpe contributed two caused turnovers of her own in the loss.

Rutgers struck first in the ranked-vs.-ranked matchup when Kelly found Hartshorn for a 1-0 lead at the 13:39 mark in the first quarter. But Maryland scored the next four goals to end the quarter with a 4-1 lead. 

Both teams battled in the second quarter, with Spilis' first goal of the day making it a 6-3 game in favor of UMD. The Terrapins responded with a goal right before halftime to take a 7-3 advantage into the break.

The Scarlet Knights made it interesting out of halftime. Ball caused a turnover behind Maryland's cage to set up RU's next offensive possession. Junior Jenna Byrne found Spilis on an eight-meter attempt Hartshorn followed with a free position goal to make it just 7-5 Maryland with 10:53 to go.

Maryland would close the game with a 9-1 scoring run, as four Terrapins scored three or more goals against Rutgers en route to a 16-6 final.

Rutgers returns home to host three consecutive games, beginning with No. 18 John Hopkins on Saturday in Piscataway.