Playing one of the toughest schedules in the country under fourth-year head coach Melissa Lehman, Rutgers women's lacrosse finished with eight victories and its third consecutive Big Ten Tournament Semifinal appearance during the 2023 campaign. The Scarlet Knights picked up wins against three ranked opponents – No. 6 Stony Brook, No. 16 Johns Hopkins, and No. 19 Jacksonville – and closed the season receiving votes in the final IWLCA Coaches Poll - its third consecutive season appearing in the final IWLCA rankings.

PROGRAM NOTEABLES

• 2023 Campaign
  • Advanced to the Big Ten Tournament Semifinals for the third consecutive season.
  • Defeated three or more ranked opponents for the third consecutive season - No. 6 Stony Brook, No. 16 Johns Hopkins, and No. 19 Jacksonville.
  • The win over No. 6 Stony Brook was the third over a top-10 opponent under Lehman and the program's first regular season win over a top-six foe in school history.
  • Began season 3-0 for the third time in four chances under Lehman.
  • Played nine opponents who finished ranked in the final IWLCA Coaches Poll - No. 1 Northwester, No. 6 James Madison, No. 10 Stony Brook, No. 11 Maryland, No. 12 Michigan, No. 16 Army, No. 17 Johns Hopkins, No. 22 Penn State and No. 24 Jacksonville.
• Rankings
  • Received votes in the final IWLCA Coaches poll - third consecutive season ranked in final coaches poll.
  • Opened No. 8 in the preseason IWLCA Coaches Poll - its highest preseason ranking in school history.
• Individual Accolades
  • Multiple All-America selections for third consecutive season (Meghan Ball, Cassidy Spilis).
  • Four or more All-Big Ten selections for third consecutive season.
  • Three or more IWLCA All-Region picks for the third consecutive season.
  • Second Big Ten Player of the Year selection in school history (Meghan Ball, Defender of the Year).
  • Second consecutive Tewaaraton Award Top-25 finalist (Meghan Ball).
  • Two Tewaaraton Watch List selections for third consecutive season (Meghan Ball, Cassidy Spilis).

INDIVIDUAL LAURELS

• IWLCA All-Americans (1)
  • Meghan Ball (Second Team)
•  IL Women All-Americans (2)
  • Meghan Ball (Second Team)
  • Cassidy Spilis (Honorable Mention)
• USA Lacrosse Magazine All-Americans (2)
  • Meghan Ball (First Team)
  • Cassidy Spilis (Third Team)
• IWLCA All-Region (3)
  • Meghan Ball (First Team)
  • Cassidy Spilis (First Team)
  • Marin Hartshorn (Second Team)
• ECAC Defensive Player of the Year (1)
  • Meghan Ball
• Tewaaraton Award Top 25 (1)
  • Meghan Ball
• Tewaaraton Award Watch List (2)
  • Meghan Ball
  • Cassidy Spilis
• All-Big Ten (4)
  • Meghan Ball (First Team, Unanimous)
  • Cassidy Spilis (First Team)
  • Ashley Campo (Second Team)
  • Marin Hartshorn (Second Team)
• Big Ten Defender of the Year
  • Meghan Ball
• All-Big Ten Tournament Team (2)
  • Marin Hartshorn
  • Cassidy Spilis
• IWLCA Weekly Awards
  • Meghan Ball
    • National Defensive Player of the Week (2/21, 2/14)
  • Cassidy Spilis
    • Co-Offensive National Player of the Week (4/18)
• Big Ten Weekly Awards
  • Meghan Ball
    • Defensive Player of the Week (4/11, 2/21, 2/14)
  • Sophia Cardello
    • Co-Defensive Player of the Week (4/18)
  • Marin Hartshorn
    • Offensive Player of the Week (4/18)
  • Cassidy Spilis
    • Midfielder of the Week (2/21)

Individual Milestones & Program Records

• Meghan Ball
  • Program Record for Career Caused Turnovers (154)
  • Program Record for Career Draw Controls (308)
• Jessica Beneducci
  • 100 Career Ground Balls
• Jenna Byrne
  • 100 Career Points
• Sophia Cardello
  • 300 Career Saves
• Marin Hartshorn
  • Program Record for Career Assists (92)
  • Fifth Player in Program History to Reach 200 Career Points
  • 100 Career Goals
• Cassidy Spilis
  • Program Record for Career Goals (192)
  • Currently third in career draw controls 215 and No. 5 in career points (202)

Senior Impact

• RU's 10-player senior class - Meghan Ball, Riley Ban, Jessica Beneducci, Jenna Byrne, Ashley Campo, Janey Galski, Marin Hartshorn, Lindsay Newton, Caroline Perry and Cassidy Spilis - helped the Scarlet Knights to 41 victories, 14 wins over ranked opponents, the program's first-ever appearance in a Big Ten Tournament final, back-to-back NCAA Tournament appearances in 2021 and 2022 and the program's first-ever NCAA Tournament wins.

Meghan Ball - Big Ten Defender of the Year

• Senior defender Meghan Ball established herself as one of the best in the country this past season. The 2023 Big Ten and ECAC Defender of the Year, a unanimous First Team All-Big Ten selection and a First Team IWLCA All-Region pick, Ball led the conference in caused turnovers per game (3.53) and ground balls per game (3.00), finishing second and 12th, respectively, in both categories nationally. The unanimous All-American also closed out her season third in the conference and 27th in the NCAA with 5.94 draw controls per game, closing her 2022 campaign with team-highs in draw controls (101), caused turnovers (60) and ground balls (51). Her 60 caused turnovers to reset her program single-season record set a season ago.
• A Tewaaraton Award Top-25 finalist and Midseason All-American by Inside Lacrosse, Ball caused three or more turnovers 10 times this season, including a season-best seven on February 15 at Monmouth and producing three or more caused turnovers in five conference games this spring. Ball earned Big Ten Defense Player of the Week laurels three times and IWLCA National Defensive Player of the Week accolades in 2023.

Cassidy Spilis - Scoring Excellence

• 2023 All-American Cassidy Spilis solidified herself as the top goal scorer in program history when she passed current volunteer assistant coach Taralyn Naslonski with 192 for her career. A First Team All-Big Ten honoree and a First Team IWLCA All-Region pick, Spilis finished the regular season with a team-high 47 goals to go along with 45 draw controls, 26 ground balls and 22 caused turnovers. The 2022 Big Ten Midfielder of the Year scored three or more goals in 10 games during the season, including a season-high six in RU's 15-8 victory over Georgetown back in February.
• In 63 career games, the 2023 preseason Tewaaraton Award nominee and Midseason All-American by IL Women has produced 202 points, 192 goals, 215 draw controls, 110 ground balls and 66 caused turnovers.
• One of the most decorated student-athletes in program history, Spilis is a three-time All-American and three-time all-conference selection for the Scarlet Knights.

Marin Hartshorn - Lasting Legacy

• Graduate student Marin Hartshorn cemented herself as one of the top players in program history with a career year in 2023. The three-time team captain finished with a team-high 62 points on 35 goals and 27 assists, tallying three or more points 11 times during the spring while producing seven games with three or more goals.
• Hartshorn set the program career assist mark at 92 and became just the sixth player to eclipse 200 points for her career with a final tally of 214. Hartshorn also ranks No. 4 in school history with 168 career draw controls.
• The Allentown, New Jersey, native was a 2023 Second Team All-Big Ten selection and a three-time IWLCA All-Region pick.

Rookie Impact

• Several rookies made an immediate impact for Rutgers during their first collegiate seasons. Freshman Ava Kane appeared in all 17 games in 2023, which included five starts on attack. Kane finished fourth on the team with 23 points on 20 goals and three helpers. The Glen Mills, Pennsylvania, native produced six games with two or more points and tallied hat tricks against Ohio State, Penn State and Stony Brook.
• Classmate Lily Dixon finished tied for fifth with 18 points, appearing in 14 games during the 2023 campaign. Dixon produced a career-high five points on four goals and an assist against Ohio State, which included the game-winning score in overtime against the Buckeyes.
• True freshmen Katie Buck, Kayleigh Coughlin, Gianna Eglauf and Kimberly Greenblatt also made appearances during their first collegiate seasons.

Academic Success

• Rutgers landed a program-record 30 student-athletes on the 2023 Spring Academic All-Big Ten list and had another 16 earned Big Ten Distinguisehd Scholar accolades.
• The Scarlet Knights finished with a cumulative 3.61 GPA during the 2023 spring semester, as 24 student-athletes posted 3.5 or higher GPAs while 14 were named to the dean's list. Nine student-athletes posted perfect 4.0 GPAs in the spring.