No. 13 Women’s Lacrosse Faces No. 3 Maryland for Big Ten Title Sunday

Sunday, May 8

Piscataway, N.J.

Noon ET

Rutgers University

Maryland

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Photo by: Dustin Satloff

No. 13 Women’s Lacrosse Faces No. 3 Maryland for Big Ten Title Sunday

May 07 | Women's Lacrosse

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PISCATAWAY, N.J. – No. 13 Rutgers women's lacrosse (15-3, 4-2) faces No. 3 Maryland (16-1, 6-0) in the 2022 Big Ten Tournament final on Sunday in Piscataway. First draw is set for noon ET from SHI Stadium with a national broadcast on Big Ten Network. WRSU (88.7 FM) will also provide coverage of the conference championship.

Tickets for Sunday's final can be purchased here. Parking for the 2022 Big Ten Women's Lacrosse Tournament is free, but visitors must register their vehicle with the University through this link. Visitors only need to register their vehicle once for the entire weekend. Parking is located in the Scarlet Lot outside the West entrance of SHI Stadium.

Rutgers women's lacrosse joins the men's program as well as field hockey and women's soccer as teams from Rutgers Athletics to advance to Big Ten Tournament finals this season. Men's lacrosse faces No. 1 seed Maryland Saturday night at 8 p.m. ET (BTN) for a chance at a Big Ten title.

How We Got Here
The Scarlet Knights pounded No. 4 Northwestern, 13-5, on Friday night in the Big Ten semifinals. The win over the No. 4 Wildcats was the first over a top-5 ranked opponent in school history, as RU held the Wildcats to a season-low five goals – Northwestern's lowest scoring output since 2017.

RU's defense forced NU into 15 turnovers, as junior Meghan Ball produced team-highs in caused turnovers (3) and ground balls (6). Sophomore Sophia Cardello secured 12 saves and allowed just five goals for her 13th win of the season. On the other side of the field, Rutgers outshot Northwestern, 32-25, and was paced by junior captain Cassidy Spilis, who netted five goals on five shots and added an assist in the win.

The Northwestern Win in Context

First win over Northwestern in 17 chances.
Highest ranked win and first win over top-5 opponent in program history.
Highest ranked win since RU defeated No. 7 Princeton on March 3, 2010.
Secured first Big Ten final appearance.
Secured second conference title appearance (Lost to Penn State in the 1998 ECAC title game).
First Big Ten semifinal victory in program history (1-2 all-time).
Set program record for wins in a season at 15.

Spilis Sets Milestone
With her five goals, junior Cassidy Spilis passed Heather Jones (1993) for the most goals in a single season and now has 64 on the year. Spilis' 64 goals are second in the conference and her 140 career goals are tied with Marilyn Reilly (1982-85) for the fourth most all-time at Rutgers.

Kelly Hits 300
Graduate student Stephanie Kelly reached 300 points for her career after her two goals and two assists Friday night against Northwestern. Kelly has produced 301 career points on 153 goals and 148 assists during her career at Saint Joseph's (2018-21) and Rutgers (2022). Kelly is a 2022 Second Team All-Big Ten Selection.

Ball Makes an Impact
First Team All-Big Ten defender Meghan Ball has established herself as one of the best at her position in the country. The junior has produced 93 draw controls, 54 ground balls and 44 caused turnovers in 18 games this season, as she helped RU hold Northwestern – the top scoring offense in the Big Ten and No. 8 overall in the country – to just five goals Friday night.

Cardello Strong in Cage
Sophomore Sophia Cardello was instrumental in Rutgers' victory over the Wildcats on Friday night with her 12 save and five goals allowed. The Massapequa, New York, native has tallied nine or more saves in her past four games, which included a career-high 18 in the 18-13 victory over Penn State on April 23 in Piscataway.

Scouting Maryland
The Terrapins enter Sunday's championships with a No. 3 ranking in the final IWLCA Coaches Poll, a 16-1 record and an eight-game winning streak. UMD defeated No. 4 seed Johns Hopkins, 14-6, on Friday night to advance to its sixth consecutive Big Ten Tournament final. Aurora Cordingley totaled seven points and Hannah Leubecker netted four goals in the victory.

Series History
Maryland leads the all-time series with Rutgers, 21-1. The Scarlet Knights delivered their first win in the all-time series last season with their 16-14 victory over the No. 11 Terrapins on April 18, 2021 in Piscataway. RU lost this season's matchup by a 16-6 margin on March 20 in College Park. The loss was Rutgers' first of the season and snapped an eight-game winning streak to open the 2022 campaign.

Up Next
With its No. 7 RPI and wins over five ranked opponents, Rutgers awaits to hear where it will open the 2022 NCAA Tournament. The men's and women's NCAA Tournament selection show is slated for Sunday at 9 p.m. ET on ESPNU.