PISCATAWAY, N.J. – No. 14 Rutgers women's lacrosse (12-3, 2-2) closes its regular-season home schedule with RV Penn State (6-7, 0-4) on Saturday at SHI Stadium. First draw is set for noon ET and will stream via Big Ten Plus. WRSU (88.7 FM) has the radio broadcast.
The game serves as Senior Day for the Scarlet Knights, as nine student-athletes will be honored prior to the matchup –
Riley Ban,
Sarah Cedarstrand,
Marin Hartshorn,
Stephanie Kelly,
Taralyn Naslonski,
Caroline Perry,
Shannon Siebold,
Alexis Watson and
Linda Zamrowski.
Admission to all 2022 home games is free. Parking for 2022 women's lacrosse home games is also free, but visitors must register their vehicle with the University through this link. Visitors only need to register their vehicle once for the entire season. Parking for 2022 home games is in the Scarlet Lot outside the West entrance of SHI Stadium. Saturday's game is the first leg of a lacrosse doubleheader in Piscataway, as the No. 4 men's program hosts the Nittany Lions at 4 p.m. on Big Ten Network.
Last Time Out
Rutgers wrapped up non-conference action with a convincing 14-4 victory over San Diego State last Saturday in Piscataway. Eight Scarlet Knights scored in the win - including a game-high six from graduate student
Taralyn Naslonski - to help RU to its most wins in a season since the 2007 campaign.
Rutgers' defense was also dominant in the win over the Aztecs, as it forced the visitors into 15 turnovers and allowed just four goals, the ninth time it has held an opponent under double digits this season. Sophomore
Sophia Cardello stopped nine shots for her 10th win of the season, while rookie
Caleigh Forti collected seven goals in the fourth quarter. Juniors
Jessica Beneducci (2),
Meghan Ball and
Cassidy Spilis all caused turnovers for the Scarlet Knights.
Spilis was all over the field with six draw controls, three ground balls and a goal to go along with her caused turnover. On the offensive side of the ball, Naslonski produced seven points on six goals and an assist, senior
Marin Hartshorn added four points on two goals and two assists and Beneducci added two helpers.
In the Rankings
Rutgers is No. 14 in the latest ILWomen/IWLCA Coaches Poll and Nike/USA Lacrosse Magazine Top 20. Rutgers is one of four Big Ten programs in the latest coaches poll, joining No. 2 Northwestern, No. 8 Maryland and No. 20 Michigan. Johns Hopkins, Ohio State and Penn State all received votes in the poll this week.
Big Ten Tournament Set for Piscataway May 6-8
Tickets for the 2022 Big Ten Women's Lacrosse Tournament, set for May 6-8 at SHI Stadium in Piscataway, New Jersey, are now on sale. The semifinals begin on Friday, May 6 at 5:30 p.m. ET, followed by the championship game on Sunday at noon.
Historic Wins Total
With their win over Michigan on March 31, the Scarlet Knights locked up 10 wins for the first time since the 2010 campaign. Rutgers has produced seven 10-plus win seasons since its first year of varsity lacrosse in 1977. Its most in a season was 14 in 1999, when the Scarlet Knights advanced to the NCAA Tournament for the first time in their history.
Double-Digit Winning Seasons
- 2022: 12-3
- 2010: 11-5
- 2007: 12-5
- 1999: 14-3 (NCAA Tournament)
- 1998: 12-6
- 1997: 12-5
- 1990: 10-6
Spilis & Naslonski 50+ Goals
Graduate student
Taralyn Naslonski and junior
Cassidy Spilis each netted their 50th goals of the season last week. They are the sixth and seventh student-athletes to go over 50 goals in a season in program history. It also marks the first time Rutgers has had two 50-plus goal scorers in the same season.
Single-Season Goal Record
| Student-Athlete (Year) |
Goals |
| 1 Heather Jones (1993) |
60 |
| 2 Denise Reed (1990) |
57 |
| 3 Marilyn Reilly (1984) |
56 |
| 4 Dina Cavallo (1998) |
53 |
| T/5 Rita Sweeney (1986) |
51 |
| T/5 Cassidy Spilis (2022) |
51 |
| 7 Taralyn Naslonski (2022) |
50 |
Naslonski All-Time Scoring Leader
Graduate student
Taralyn Naslonski became the program's all-time scoring leader when RU played at No. 3 Northwestern on April 7 in Evanston. Naslonski now owns 243 career points on 171 goals and 72 assists. Naslonski needs just three goals to pass Heather Jones (1991-94) for first on the program's all-time goals list and needs 12 helpers to pass Denise Reed (1987-90) for the program's all-time assists lead.
Kelly going for Single-Season Assist Record
Graduate student
Stephanie Kelly has dished out 32 assists this season to lead the Big Ten and sit sixth nationally in the category. Kelly is second on the team with 55 points with her 32 helpers and 23 goals. After her standout career at St Joseph's, Kelly owns 292 points on 150 goals and 142 assists. Her 292 points are ninth amongst active players in the country. Kelly needs just three assists to pass Danielle Mascera (2012) for the single-season assist record.
Ball Fills Up the Stat Sheet
Junior
Meghan Ball has been one of the top defenders in the country this season with team-highs in draw controls (77), ground balls (46) and caused turnovers (37). She is first in the Big Ten and sixth nationally with 2.47 caused turnovers per game and is second in the conference in 13th in the country with 3.07 ground balls per game.
Scouting Penn State
The Nittany Lions enter Saturday's game after its 8-7 overtime loss to then-No. 19 Michigan last Saturday in Happy Valley. PSU is 0-4 in the Big Ten this season but owns a 14-10 win against then-No. 21 James Madison to highlight its six wins during the spring.
Kristin O'Neill leads Penn State in points (43) and goals (33), while Kara Nealon has dished out a team-high 20 assists. O'Neill has caused a team-best 20 turnovers. Ashley Bowan has been the primary goalkeeper for PSU this season with 75 saves, a .426 save percentage and a 10.08 goals against average.
This will be the 23rd meeting all-time between the programs. RU delivered its first win all-time against Penn State last season, 17-16 victory over the Nittany Lions on April 15, 2021 in Piscataway.
Up Next
Rutgers wraps up its regular season at RV Ohio State on Thursday, April 28. The game is slated for an 8 p.m. ET national broadcast on Big Ten Network.
