PISCATAWAY, N.J. – Rutgers women's lacrosse (6-7, 0-5) lost a 13-12 overtime heartbreaker to No. 9 Johns Hopkins (10-3, 2-1) on Saturday night at SHI Stadium. The Scarlet Knights held a three-goal lead with just over two minutes to play, but the Blue Jays scored three consecutive goals to force overtime and closed out the night with a game-winner from Bailey Cheetham.

Prior to the game, RU recognized its 2024 senior class - Jessica Beneducci, Sophia Cardello, Kate Carolonza, Sara Carolonza, Mikayla Dever, Nicole DiLullo, Madison Grady, Keeley McNemar, Lauren Messinese, Ashley Moynahan, Ellie Riegner, and Cassidy Spilis.

Cardello was outstanding in cage with 11 saves, using her second of the night to become just the sixth player in program history to hit 500 career saves. Rutgers forced Johns Hopkins into 16 turnovers and pitched a shutout in the third quarter in the impressive defensive effort.

Spilis stuffed the stat sheet with five goals, seven draw controls, four caused turnovers and two ground balls. With her five goals, Spilis is just six points away from surpassing current assistant coach Taralyn Naslonski for the most points in program history at 267.

Junior Michelle Warren carded her second consecutive hat trick with three goals, while sophomore Lily Dixon dished out three assists in the loss. Classmate Ava Chiarella scored two goals, with junior Alexa Corbin and sophomore Kayleigh Coughlin had a goal a piece.

After an early goal from the visitor to begin the night, it was all Rutgers in the first quarter. Spilis netted back-to-back goals to open a 5-0 scoring run, which was stamped by a goal from Warren off a nice pass from Dixon. The connection with 55 seconds left in the opening quarter gave the Scarlet Knights a 5-1 advantage.

The Blue Jays countered with back-to-back goals to open the second quarter before Warren's unassisted strike put Rutgers up 6-3 with 6:48 to play before halftime. Both teams traded scores ahead of the locker room, with a buzzer-beating goal from JHU's Maeve Barker making it a 9-6 game in favor of Rutgers at the midpoint.

It was all defense in the third quarter, as Cardello stopped seven shots to keep the score at 9-6. The scoreless stretch continued three minutes into the fourth quarter before Johns Hopkins scored with 12:01 on the clock. After the Blue Jays pulled within one three minutes later, Rutgers responded with a 3-1 scoring run, as back-to-back goals from Spilis and Warren made it a 12-9 game with 2:31 to play.

JHU closed the game with a 3-0 scoring run to force overtime. After Dixon was hit for a card at the end of regulation, Johns Hopkins opened extra time with possession. Rutgers put the clamps down in the first half of overtime, forcing two Blue Jay misses before a crucial save from Cardello gave possession back to the Scarlet Knights. However, RU did not convert on the opposite side of the field as the score remained 12-12 ahead of the second half of overtime. JHU won the opening draw of the period to set up its game-winning play.

Up Next
Rutgers closes the regular season with three consecutive road games, beginning at No. 15 Stony Brook on Tuesday, April 9 in Stony Brook, New York. First draw from LaValle Stadium is set for 6:30 p.m. ET and will stream on ESPN+.