PISCATAWAY, N.J. – Rutgers women's lacrosse (7-4, 1-1) returns home to host No. 21 Ohio State (8-2, 1-2) on Sunday in Piscataway. First draw from SHI Stadium is set for 1 p.m. and will stream on Big Ten Plus.
 
The Scarlet Knights are set to face six consecutive Big Ten Conference foes to close out the regular season, with five of those programs – No. 3 Northwestern, No. 6 Maryland, No. 10 Michigan, No. 18 USC and No. 21 Ohio State – ranked in this week's IWLCA Coaches Poll.
 

Opening Draw

Dixon Continues Family's Athletic Excellence
By Bradly Derechailo
 
Standout attacker Lily Dixon does not have to look back far on her family tree to see athletic success.
 
She can start with her immediate family.
 
Dixon's parents were standout student-athletes at Towson. Her mother, Julie, was a gymnast for the Tigers and a member of the 1990 team that finished ninth at the NCAA Championships and was inducted into the Towson Athletics Hall of Fame in 2008.
 
Her father, Lindsay, was a three-year starter at midfield for Tiger Lacrosse and inducted into the Towson Hall of Fame in 2002. Dixon led the Tigers to back-to-back NCAA Tournament appearances as a junior and senior, helping Towson to the Final Four in 1991 with a spot in the NCAA Championship game. Lindsay Dixon was selected to the 1994 U.S. World Lacrosse team and enjoyed a five-year professional career.
 
But the family's athletic success does not stop there. Her brother, Parker, was a four-year letterwinner at Lynchburg, where he appeared in 32 career games for the Hornets. Lily's uncle, Dudley, was an All-American in lacrosse at Johns Hopkins. Her great uncle, G.P. Lindsay, was an All-American at Washington College, while her great grandfather, Parker Lindsay, was a standout lacrosse player at Maryland, where he was a two-time All-American from 1936-38.
 
Clearly, athletic ability is in her genes.
 
"My parents were never the type to put any pressure on me and have been so supportive during my career," Dixon said.  "But I still want to do everything I can to uphold our family's name even though they might not put the pressure on me to do so."


 
Dixon has used that self-motivation to continue her family's legacy during her standout career for Rutgers women's lacrosse. The Grasonville, Maryland, native became the 28th player in program history to hit 100 career points when she contributed three assists and a goal at No. 7 Johns Hopkins on Sunday in Baltimore. It capped an 11-point performance across her past two games, earning her Big Ten Offensive Player of the Week accolades for the first time in her career.
 
In 11 games, this spring, Dixon leads the team in points (39) and assists (24) to go along with 15 goals, 22 ground balls, 19 draw controls and 13 caused turnovers. Dixon has contributed multiple points in eight outings in 2025, including a career-high seven points on four helpers and three goals in RU's 19-7 win over Temple on March 20 in Piscataway.
 
Dixon credits the rest of her teammates for setting her up for success.
 
"I don't really think about my individual stats," Dixon said. "But I could not have achieved those individual milestones without my defenders pushing me every day at practice and having great cutters to feed to and make it easy for them to finish. I can't thank my teammates enough for pushing me every day to get better."
 
This season has proved to be the best, statistically, of Dixon's already standout collegiate career. The accounting major has appeared in 43 career games for the Scarlet Knights dating back to 2023, totaling 100 points, 63 assists, 37 goals, 48 ground balls, 26 caused turnovers and 20 draw controls. Her 63 assists already rank sixth on the program's all-time career assists list, needing four more helpers to break into the top five.
 
Head coach Melissa Lehman saw Dixon's potential early in her career. Dixon tallied 18 points as a freshman in 2023, including a four-goal effort against Ohio State. Her final goal against the Buckeyes was a game winner, lifting the Scarlet Knights to an overtime conference victory.
 
Dixon's maturation into a more complete player is no surprise to Lehman.
 
"From her first year, Lily just had the ability to compete at a high level and perform under pressure.," Lehman said. "Her game has so many layers to it. She can score, she can assist, she's relentless in the ride and getting the ball back. A player like that gives your team so much confidence. She's always ready to compete."


 
While Dixon is proud of both her individual milestones and her family's success, her main focus is helping Rutgers achieve its team goals, which includes a return to the NCAA Tournament. The Scarlet Knights made it back-to-back seasons in 2021 and 2022 when Dixon committed to the program, and getting back to the national tournament is something Dixon says her and her teammates work towards every single day."
 
"Getting back there is a huge goal for us and something that we really want to achieve this year," Dixon said. "I know that Coach Melissa pushes all of us to get better and she is hard on us because she sees the potential in us. I think just learning from everything she tells us and trying to grow while improving our game is a big angle for us."
 
With six consecutive Big Ten opponents ahead to close the regular season, Dixon knows each game is important towards the Scarlet Knights' ambitions of reaching the postseason.
 
Dixon is grateful for the chance to play the game she loves, a passion instilled in her by her family.
 
"My dad was my coach growing up, and I know I could not be in the position if it wasn't for him," Dixon said. "Him and my mom have supported me and have gone to almost every single one of my games here. Just knowing they are going to be here, support me and be proud of me no matter what makes me just want to step on the field and give it my all.
 

Last Time Out

• Rutgers lost at No. 7 Johns Hopkins, 17-6, on Sunday afternoon in Baltimore. Junior Lily Dixon became the 28th student-athlete in program history to produce 100 career points after she muscled a team-high four points on three assists and a goal.
•  The Blue Jays used a 33-21 shot advantage and forced the Scarlet Knights into 22 turnovers to secure the Big Ten Conference victory at Homewood Field. Johns Hopkins – ranked No. 7 in this week's IWLCA Coaches Poll – marked the fourth ranked opponent for RU in its last seven games.
• Senior Michelle Warren added two goals, while senior Victoria Goldrick, junior Kayleigh Coughlin and rookie Hilary Elsner contributed scores to help pace Rutgers' offense. Junior Lily Dixon secured a game-high eight draw controls, while graduate student goalkeeper Lexie Coldiron secured eight saves against JHU's high-powered offense.

What to Know

• Rutgers received votes in this week's USA Lacrosse Magazine Top 20 poll, the third consecutive week the Scarlet Knights have appeared in the poll.
• Five of RU's remaining six games feature ranked opponents. In total, Rutgers will have played 11 opponents who appeared in the coaches poll this season.
• Junior Lily Dixon was named Big Ten Offensive Player of the Week on Tuesday after she produced a combined 11 points against No. 7 Johns Hopkins and Temple last week. Dixon currently leads the team with 39 points and 24 assists this season.
• Dixon produced the 100th point of her collegiate career after she tallied four at No. 7 Johns Hopkins, becoming the 28th player in school history to hit the century mark for career points.
• Graduate student goalkeeper Lexie Coldiron earned a pair of accolades this week, as the netminder was named an Inside Lacrosse/ILWomen Honorable Mention All-American and was added to the Tewaaraton Award Watch List. Coldiron is second in the country in saves (117), first in the conference and 11^th nationally with 10.64 saves per game and is fourth in the Big Ten and ninth nationally with a .522 save percentage.
• With 598 career stops, Coldiron needs two more to secure 600 career saves.
• Katie Buck has been steady for RU's draw unit this season, as the junior is currently fourth in the Big Ten and 20^th nationally with 7.18 draw controls per game. Buck is third in the conference with 79 draw controls this season.
• Senior captain Madison Karpe is just five ground balls away from 100 for her career.
• Rookies have had an immediate impact for the Scarlet Knights this season. Delainey Sutley was named Big Ten Freshman of the Week earlier this season and is third on the team with 14 goals. Hilary Elsner (12 goals) and Caroline Ling (nine goals) have also contributed meaningful scoring. Charlee Thomas has started all 11 games on defense, while Bianca Chiarella is second on the team with 11 caused turnovers.

About Ohio State

• The Buckeyes enter weekend action with an 8-2 record, losing to No. 10 Michigan, 14-7, in their last time out on Thursday night in Columbus. Ohio State opened its season 8-0 before losing to then-No. 21 USC, 9-8, on Sunday at home.
• OSU is currently ranked No. 21 in the IWLCA Coaches Poll, No. 19 in the Inside Lacrosse Media Poll and is 14th in the latest RPI.
• The Buckeyes feature the No. 3 scoring defense in the country, with 6.67 points allowed per game this season, and are the top clearing team in the nation with a 0.954 clearing percentage.
• Brynn Ammerman is OSU's leading scorer with 4.33 points per game.
• Rutgers is 10-5 all-time against Ohio State, having won the previous six matchups dating back to 2021. Five of those six games have been decided by three goals or less, including a 13-11 victory for the Scarlet Knights over the Buckeyes last season in Columbus.

Up Next

• Rutgers faces Penn State on Thursday, April 3 in University Park, Pennsylvania. First draw from Panzer Stadium is set for 7 p.m. with a national broadcast on Big Ten Network.