No. 9 Women’s Lacrosse Readies for Road Matchup Saturday at Army
Feb 23 | Women's Lacrosse
PISCATAWAY, N.J. – No. 9 Rutgers women's lacrosse (3-0) faces RV Army (3-0) on Saturday in West Point, New York. First draw is set for noon at Michie Stadium and will stream on ESPN+.
| Last Time Out |
- The Scarlet Knights remained undefeated thanks to their 15-8 victory over Georgetown last Saturday at SHI Stadium. The win secured a 3-0 for the third time in four seasons under reigning Big Ten Coach of the Year Melissa Lehman.
- Senior Cassidy Spilis netted a game-high six goals, while graduate student Marin Hartshorn tallied five points on three scores and two helpers in the win over the Hoyas. With her eight draw controls and six caused turnovers, senior Meghan Ball set program records for career caused turnovers and career draw controls with 111 and 230, respectively. Junior Sophia Cardello produced nine saves in the win.
| Weekly Recognition for Ball, Spilis |
- Ball repeated as IWLCA National Defensive Player of the Week and Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week. In two games last week, Ball combined for 13 caused turnovers, 13 draw controls and eight ground balls.
- Through the first two weeks of the season, Ball leads the country with 5.67 caused turnovers per game, is ninth with 4.33 ground balls per game and leads the Big Ten Conference with 7.67 draw controls per game. As a defense, Rutgers ranks 10th national in scoring defense with just 6.67 goals allowed per game.
- Spilis also earned recognition from the Big Ten after she was named the conference's midfielder or the week. Spilis combined for 10 goals, eight caused turnovers, six ground balls and four draw controls in both wins last week. Spilis tallied a game-high six goals and caused five turnovers against the Hoyas after she opened the week with a four-goal effort against the Hawks.
| Steady in the Rankings |
- Rutgers remained No. 7 by USA Lacrosse Magazine and moved back one spot to No. 9 in the ILWomen/IWLCA poll.
| Milestones & Records to Watch |
- Spilis is six ground balls away from 100 for her career.
- Spilis is five goals away from passing Katie Batiuk (2004-07) for third on the program's all-time list.
- Hartshorn is seven goals away from 100 for her career.
- Senior Jenna Byrne is seven points away from 100 for her career.
- Cardello is 25 saves away from 300 for her career.
| Ranked Competition |
- RV Army represents one of 11 teams on this year's schedule ranked or receiving votes in the latest IWLCA Coaches Poll. The list includes No. 3 Northwestern, No. 5 Stony Brook, No. 6 Maryland, No. 13 James Madison, No. 16 Johns Hopkins, No. 17 Princeton, No. 18 Michigan, then-No. 19 Jacksonville, No. 25 Penn State, RV Army and RV Vanderbilt.
- The win over No. 19 Jacksonville marked the 13th victory over a ranked opponent over the past three seasons under head coach Melissa Lehman.
| Scouting Army & Series History |
- The Black Knights enter Saturday's game with a perfect 3-0 record after they dominated Marist, 21-5, on Wednesday night in West Point. Army also owns wins over New Hampshire (19-8) and No. 19 Jacksonville (12-10) this season.
- Lacey Bartholomay was named Patriot League Goalkeeper of the Week, while Brigid Duffy earned Patriot League Rookie of the Week laurels thanks to standout performances at Jacksonville last weekend. Bartholomay stopped a program single-game record 19 shots, while Duffy netted a game-high five goals in the win.
- The two programs met for the first time last season – a 16-9 victory for the Scarlet Knights on February 16, 2022 at SHI Stadium. Stephanie Kelly produced a team-high six points on four assists and two goals, while Taralyn Naslonski netted a season-high five goals to pace the Scarlet Knights' potent offensive attack.
| Up Next |
- Rutgers hosts No. 17 Princeton on Wednesday, March 1 at SHI Stadium. The game is set for a 6 p.m. start on Big Ten Plus.
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