PISCATAWAY, N.J. – Rutgers women's lacrosse (2-1) hosts Le Moyne (0-1) on Saturday in Piscataway. First draw from SHI Stadium is set for 3 p.m., with the matchup streamed on Big Ten Plus. The game is part of a doubleheader with the men's lacrosse program, which host Loyola (Md.) at noon.
The Scarlet Knights look for their third consecutive win after back-to-back victories over Delaware and Monmouth last week. Saturday will be the first ever matchup against Le Moyne, which enters its second season competing at the Division I level after finishing with nine victories a year ago.
Buck Shines in Center Circle
By Bradly Derechailo
For junior
Katie Buck, just getting back on the field has been a win in itself. A top-rated recruit out of Moorestown, Buck has battled injuries over the past two seasons, missing her entire 2024 sophomore campaign.
Now healthy, her goal of returning to the turf has resulted in success for Rutgers women's lacrosse. Buck helped the Scarlet Knights to their second consecutive victory last Saturday against Delaware, securing a game-high eight draw controls to contribute to RU's 15-10 advantage on the restart against the Blue Hens.
"Especially being out for two years, all I wanted was to come out and play with my friends, and that's exactly what I did [on Saturday]," Buck said. "We trusted in our preparation, and I was happy to perform with my best friends by my side."
Buck's patience and persistence has paid off for both herself and the program, quickly becoming one of the top draw specialists in the country just three games into her junior campaign. Buck leads the Big Ten Conference and is ninth nationally with 9.33 draw controls per game, leading the team in that category in each game this season. Her impressive start includes a career-high 11 draw controls in the opener at Army, the most in a single game for the program since 2021.
Buck's success has been a joy to see for sixth-year head coach
Melissa Lehman, who always knew the impact Buck could have in her lineup when healthy.
"Ultimately, it's just nice to see her back on the field," Lehman said. "Katie was such a great player in high school coming out of New Jersey, and someone who dominated on the draw control, so we are so excited to have her start the year off like she has. She has a ton of confidence and has really worked on self-draw and drawing to herself, and we saw her have a ton of success with it."
Buck had a standout scholastic career at Moorestown, finishing three varsity seasons with 120 points on 91 goals and 29 assists despite missing the majority of her senior season due to injury. As a junior in 2021, Buck was a first team all-state, all-group and all-division selection, helping the Quakers to a NJSIAA Group III state title.
She also prospered on the draw in high school, where she produced 211 draw controls along with 57 ground balls. Her success at Moorestown earned her top 100 collegiate freshmen recognition by ILWomen ahead of her first varsity season in 2023.
But injuries forced Buck to the sideline during her first two seasons 'On the Banks.' Buck was limited to three games as a true freshman, scoring a goal at home against Maryland. Buck then missed her entire sophomore season last spring.
She used the time away from the field to become a better player and teammate.
"The past two years, I learned and grew a lot," Buck said. "I was just really happy for my teammates and their success. I had a lot of girls in front of me with the same type of injuries, and I looked to them for a lot of guidance. Now that I finally get to play with my teammates again, I'm really just trying to cherish the moment and not take anything for granted. Even when we're in those tough moments, knowing I can lean on them, and they are right there with me is an amazing feeling."
With her teammates support, Buck has developed into a veteran presence Lehman can rely on to help replace the production of All-American
Cassidy Spilis, who finished as the program's all-time leader in draw controls with 313 from 2020-24.
"Katie has learned and grown so much over the past two years," Lehman said. "She has really taken the field with not just confidence, but with an excitement and energy that is contagious to our entire team. To have her in the center circle gives our team a ton of confidence. We have a lot of trust in her. She has worked so hard over the past few years to get to where she is, and we're so excited to have her on the field."
Buck also has the luxury of picking the brain of first-year assistant coach Livy Rosenzweig.
In five seasons at Loyola (Md.), Rosenzweig finished second in program history with 413 draw controls, including 128 as a senior in 2022. Rosenzweig closed her collegiate career as a five-time All-American, becoming just the second player in NCAA history to surpass 400 career points on both 200 goals and points, with her 439 career points fourth all-time nationally.
According to Buck, Rosenzweig, who also led Athletes Unlimited with 46 draw controls last season, has been invaluable to her early success.
"I have one of the best draw coaches around in Livy, and I've been able to learn so much from her," Buck said. "She's taught me so much, and I give a lot of credit to her. We've had so much fun together. It comes down to just being adaptable on the draw, and she has given me so much advice. I definitely have room to grow, and I am excited to work alongside her."
Rutgers will continue to lean on Buck as it looks to extend its winning streak to three this weekend when Le Moyne visits Piscataway (3 p.m., Big Ten Plus).
Buck is happy to contribute any way she can, beginning in the center.
"Taking the draw has been such a privilege and building that connection with the people in the center circle has been so much fun," Buck said. "Building that chemistry has been great, and my teammates are always there to back me up in the circle. It's so much fun to play such an intense game with them."
- Rutgers defeated Delaware, 13-9, last Saturday at SHI Stadium. Down 6-4 at halftime with snow falling throughout the afternoon, the Scarlet Knights outscored the Blue Hens, 9-3, in the final 30 minutes of play to secure the win in their home opener.
- In a game that featured seven different lead changes and six ties, RU used a 4-1 scoring run in the final 8:30 of play to put the game out of reach. Rutgers featured seven different goal scorers in the impressive out-of-conference victory over the Blue Hens.
- Junior Lily Dixon stuffed the stat sheet, tying a career-high with six points on three goals and three assists to go along with four ground balls, three caused turnovers and two draw controls. Redshirt freshman Samantha Swanovich tallied her first career hat trick, while senior Victoria Goldrick added five points on three assists and two goals.
- Junior Katie Buck produced a game-high eight draw controls to help RU to a 15-10 advantage on the restart. Graduate student Lexie Coldiron earned her second win in cage for Rutgers with 11 saves.
- Freshman Delainey Sutley earned Big Ten Freshman of the Week accolades, the first rookie to earn the award since Payton Tini last spring. Sutley combined for five points in the Scarlet Knights' two victories last week, including a three-point effort last Wednesday at Monmouth.
- Coldiron has impressed in her first three games for Rutgers, sitting top 10 nationally in saves (4th, 36), saves per game (7th, 12.00) and save percentage (8th, .571). Her saves and saves per game also lead the Big Ten. Coldiron, who collected her 500th career save last week, has stopped double-digit shots in each game this season.
- Buck is ninth in the country and first in the Big Ten with 9.33 draw controls per game, while her 28 draw controls rank tied for seventh nationally.
- Rutgers faces Le Moyne for the first time in school history.
- The Dolphins fell to Vermont, 18-7, last Friday in their season opener. Jane Austenfeld and Julia Blakeslee each had two goals in the loss.
- Le Moyne was picked to finish third in the Northeast Conference Preseason Coaches Poll.
- The Dolphins finished 9-9 last spring in their first season returning to Division I, which included an 8-2 record in conference play. In the three seasons prior to Division I, Le Moyne tallied a 50-10 record from 2020-23.
- Rutgers faces No. 6 Yale on Saturday, March 1 in New Haven, Conn. First draw is set for 3:30 p.m. and will stream on ESPN+.
