STONY BROOK, N.Y. – No. 11 Rutgers women's lacrosse (16-4) continues its postseason against No. 7 Stony Brook (15-2) on Sunday in the second round of the NCAA Tournament. First draw at Kenneth P. LaValle Stadium is set for noon ET and will stream on ESPN+. The winner will advance to next week's Elite Eight against the winner of No. 1 North Carolina and No. 15 Virginia.
 
Sunday serves as a rematch for the Scarlet Knights against the Seawolves, who handed RU a 20-8 loss in last year's NCAA Tournament Second Round to end its 2021 campaign. Tickets for Sunday's second round are $15, while youth tickets are $7. Tickets can be purchased here.
 
How We Got Here
Rutgers defeated No. 23 Saint Joseph's, 17-10, in the opening round of the 2022 NCAA Tournament on Friday night in Stony Brook, New York. The Scarlet Knights used an eight-goal first quarter – tying for the most goals in a single quarter this season – to pull away from the Hawks for their program-record 16^th win of the season.
 
Seven Scarlet Knights produced multiple points, as graduate student Taralyn Naslonski tallied a game-high six points on four goals and two assists, senior Marin Hartshorn dished out a game-high four assists and junior Jenna Byrne scored twice and contributed two helpers. After entering the game with three goals on the season, junior Janey Galski added a career-high four goals. Junior Cassidy Spilis (2), and sophomores Kate Carolonza (3) and Ashley Moynahan (2) also contributed multiple goals in the win.
 
Junior Meghan Ball continued to demonstrate why she is one of the top defenders in the country with game-highs in draw controls (10), caused turnovers (5) and ground balls (5). Hartshorn caused two turnovers and junior Jessica Beneducci scooped two ground balls. Sophomore Sophia Cardello – a Long Island native – stopped six shots for her 14th win of the season.
 
In the Rankings
Rutgers rose to No. 11 in the final ILWomen/IWLCA Coaches Poll of the regular season, the team's highest ranking of the season and its highest in program history. The Scarlet Knights have held a national ranking throughout the 2022 season, the first time they have been ranked for a season's duration in their history. RU also enters the NCAA Tournament No. 7 in the latest RPI – the third highest in the Big Ten behind No. 2 Maryland and No. 4 Northwestern.
 
With its win over No. 23 Saint Joseph's, Rutgers secured its sixth victory over a ranked program this season, tying last year's total for most ranked wins in a single season in program history.
 
Five B1G Teams to the Dance – A Conference Record
The Big Ten Conference broke new ground with a conference-record five programs receiving bids to the 2022 NCAA Division I Women's Lacrosse Tournament. Along with Rutgers, Johns Hopkins, Maryland, Michigan and Northwestern earned their way into this year's tournament, with Maryland and Northwestern receiving top-four seeds. The Big Ten's five NCAA Tournament berths surpass the previous high of four bids set in 2015, 2018, 2019 and 2021. Michigan and Northwestern advanced out of Friday's opening round, while No. 2 seeded Maryland earned a first-round bye and plays Sunday against Duke.
 
Lehman & Spilis Collect Major Big Ten Recognition
Junior Cassidy Spilis earned Big Ten Midfielder of the Year and Melissa Lehman was named Big Ten Coach of the Year, released Monday by the league office. Spilis – a unanimous selection for midfielder of the year – becomes the first Scarlet Knight to earn an individual Big Ten Player of the Year accolade since the team began league play in 2015. Lehman collects her first conference coach of the year award since taking over the program in 2019-20. Lehman joins Meredith Civico (field hockey) and Mike O'Neill (women's soccer) as head coaches from Rutgers who have earned coach of the year honors from the conference this season.
 
Four Named USA Lacrosse Magazine All-Americans
Meghan Ball, Stephanie Kelly, Taralyn Naslonski and Cassidy Spilis were named 2022 All-Americans by USA Lacrosse Magazine on Wednesday. Spilis earned second-team recognition, Ball collected third-third honors and Kelly and Naslonski were pegged honorable mention selections by the publication. This is Ball and Spilis' second consecutive appearance on the list from USA Lacrosse Magazine, as both were honorable mention All-Americans in 2021.
 
Four Repeat as IWLCA All-Region
Meghan Ball, Marin Hartshorn, Taralyn Naslonski and Cassidy Spilis repeated as IWLCA All-Mid-Atlantic Region picks, announced Thursday by the organization. Ball, Naslonski and Spilis landed on the first team, while Hartshorn earned second-team recognition.
 
Naslonski & Spilis – Double Threat
Cassidy Spilis (67) and Taralyn Naslonski (64) mark the first time Rutgers has had two 60-plus and 50-plus goal scorers in the same season in program history. Naslonski and Spilis have combined for 26 hat tricks this spring. Spilis' 67 goals are a program single-season record, while Naslonski's 259 career goals are the most in program history.
 
Single-Season Records Continue to Fall
Two Scarlet Knights set program single-season records during Friday night's win over Saint Joseph's. Taralyn Naslonski contributed six points to move past Denise Reed (1990) for the most points in a single season with 85. Meghan Ball caused five turnovers against the Hawks to move past Robin Erthal (1998) for the single-season caused-turnovers record with 51.
 
Scouting Stony Brook
The Seawolves defeated Drexel, 16-4, on Friday night in their NCAA Tournament opener. Up 7-4 at halftime, Stony Brook shutout the Dragons in the second half and outscored its opponent, 9-0, in the final 30 minutes of play to advance. It was the Seawolves 13^th consecutive victory, as Stony Brook has not lost since it fell at then-No. 5 Northwestern, 16-12, on March 10 in Evanston.
 
The Seawolves are led on offense by 2022 All-American and All-Region selection Ellie Masera, who has produced team-highs in points (82) and goals (63) this season. Kailyn Hart has netted 61 goals en route to 75 points – one of six players with more than 30 points this season. Haley Dillon has caused a team-high 44 turnovers and has scooped a team-high 31 ground balls. Both Charlie Campbell and Kameron Halsall have seen significant time in cage this season, as Campbell produced nine save in Friday's win over Drexel.
 
All-Time Against the Seawolves
Stony Brook leads the all-time series with Rutgers, 3-0, which includes a 20-8 victory over the Scarlet Knights during last season's NCAA Tournament. The Seawolves also earned back-to-back wins in a home-and-home series with RU in 2014 and 2015.
 
With A Win …

• Rutgers will advance to the Elite Eight for the first time in program history.
• Secure its third NCAA Tournament win in its history.
• Deliver its second top-10 victory of the season.
• Secure its seventh win over a ranked opponent, setting a program mark for wins over a ranked foe in a season.
• Produce its first win over Stony Brook in program history (four chances).
• Collect its 17^th victory of the season, adding to its program record for wins in a season.