PISCATAWAY, N.J. – No. 6 seed Rutgers women's lacrosse (7-8, 1-5) opens postseason play against No. 3 seed Johns Hopkins (8-7, 4-2) in the Big Ten Tournament quarterfinals on Saturday in Baltimore. First draw from Homewood Field is set for 1 p.m., with the opening-round streamed on Big Ten Plus.

Saturday will be the Scarlet Knights' second matchup with the Blue Jays this month after JHU won a come-from-behind 12-11 matchup on April 1 in Baltimore. RU led by five goals in the fourth quarter before Johns Hopkins used a 6-0 scoring run to secure the win.

Rutgers is looking for is fourth win at the Big Ten Tournament in program history and third in as many seasons. The winner of Saturday's game will face the winner of No. 2 seed Maryland vs. No. 7 Ohio State on Thursday, May 4 in Columbus.
 

Last Time Out

• Rutgers split its two games last week, winning a thrilling come-from-behind 13-12 overtime victory over Ohio State before losing to No. 4 James Madison, 14-7, on Sunday.
• Down five goals in the fourth quarter against Ohio State, the Scarlet Knights delivered a come-from-behind win over the Buckeyes. With 49 seconds remaining in extra time, senior Jenna Byrne found rookie Lily Dixon for the game-winner at SHI Stadium.

All-Big Ten Teams Announced

• Four student-athletes from Rutgers women's lacrosse – Meghan Ball, Ashley Campo, Marin Hartshorn and Cassidy Spilis – were named 2023 All-Big Ten, announced Wednesday by the league office. Ball and Spilis repeated as first-team all-conference selections, while Campo and Hartshorn earned second-team laurels. Senior Janey Galski was named the Scarlet Knights' Big Ten Sportsmanship honoree.
• It marks the third consecutive season RU has put four or more players on the all-conference list under head coach Melissa Lehman. Ball is now the first player in program history to be named a unanimous First Team All-Big Ten honoree since Rutgers joined the conference. Ball and Spilis have now been named First Team All-Big Ten in each of the past three seasons, with Campo and Hartshorn earning all-league honors for the first time in their respective careers.

Spilis Approaching Historic Milestone

• With 186 career goals, Cassidy Spilis needs two goals to pass current volunteer assistant coach Taralyn Naslonski (187 from 2018-22) for the program record. Spilis leads the team with 41 goals this season and is also just six points away from 200 for her career.

Ball CT Leader

• Ball leads the country with 3.67 caused turnovers per game.
• Ball has caused 55 turnovers this season - resetting her school single-season record - and has produced three or more caused turnovers in nine games during the spring campaign. Ball has tallied three or more caused turnovers 25 times during her historic career.
• Ball is second among active leaders nationally with 149 career-caused turnovers. She is just one behind Sam Thacker of Denver with 150.
• Ball is the program's all-time leader in caused turnovers (149) and draw controls (299), securing the program's individual records in both categories earlier this season in a 15-8 win over Georgetown at SHI Stadium.

More Career Milestones

• Meghan Ball is one draw control away from 300 for her career.
• Jessica Beneducci is one ground ball away from 100 for her career.
• Cassidy Spilis is six points away from 200 for her career.

Statistical Leaders

• Meghan Ball
  • CTs-Per-Game: 3.67 (First B1G, First NCAA)
  • GBs-Per-Game: 3.07 (First B1G, 12th 
  • DCs-Per-Game: 6.13 (Third B1G, 22nd NCAA)
• Cassidy Spilis
  • Goals: 41 (Seventh B1G)
  • Goals-Per-Game: 2.73 (Sixth B1G)
• Marin Hartshorn
  • Assists: 24 (Fourth B1G) 
  • Assists-Per-Game: 1.60 (Fourth B1G)
  • Points-Per-Game: 3.47 (Seventh B1G)
• Jenna Byrne
  • Assists: 22 (Fifth B1G)
  • Assists-Per-Game: 1.47 (Sixth B1G)
• Sophia Cardello
  • Goals Against Average: 10.63 (30th NCAA)
  • Save Percentage: .465 (27th NCAA)
  • Saves: 133 (Third B1G, 29th NCAA)
  • Saves-Per-Game: 8.87 (Second B1G, 32nd NCAA)

Scouting Johns Hopkins and Series History

• Winners of three straight and four of their last five games, the Blue Jays enter Saturday with an 8-7 record and a No. 16 ranking in the latest IWLCA Coaches Poll.
• JHU defeated No. 14 Penn State, 16-12, this past Saturday in its last time out. Abbey Hurlbrink scored a career-high five goals to help Johns Hopkins secure the No. 3 seed in the Big Ten Tournament.
• Hurlbrink was named Big Ten Offensive Player of the Week for her performance. Bailey Cheetham earned Big Ten Midfielder of the Week, while Ava Angello was named Big Ten Rookie of the Week. Angello leads the Blue Jays with 41 points on 29 goals and 12 assists this season.
• Attacker Maeve Barker was named Second Team All-Big Ten.
• Johns Hopkins leads the all-time series with Johns Hopkins, 7-2. Rutgers has defeated the Blue Jays in each of the past two seasons, which includes a 12-11 victory last season and a 13-10 road win in 2021.