PISCATAWAY, N.J. – Rutgers women's lacrosse (8-7, 2-4) hosts No. 7 Maryland (10-4, 5-1) on Wednesday night at SHI Stadium. First draw is set for a 6 p.m. primetime broadcast on Big Ten Network, with Jason Knapp and Taylor Cummings on the call.
The Scarlet Knights close their regular season with back-to-back ranked Big Ten Conference foes, as RU heads to Ann Arbor on Saturday to face No. 13 Michigan, also on Big Ten Network. Thanks to Ohio State's loss to the Terrapins over the weekend, Rutgers has secured a spot in next week's Big Ten Tournament, which begins Wednesday, April 23 in College Park, Maryland. Seeding, times and a full coverage schedule will be released later.
- Rutgers lost to No. 22 USC, 13-4, last Thursday at SHI Stadium. Up just 7-4 in the third quarter, the Trojans used a 6-0 scoring run in the final 15 minutes to secure their road win in Piscataway.
- Senior Michelle Warren enjoyed a career game with two points on a goal and assist to go along with five draw controls. Redshirt freshman Samantha Swanovich added two goals, while rookie Caroline Ling tallied two points on a goal and a helper. Senior Victoria Goldrick and Sophomore Payton Tini each dished out an assist.
- Graduate student Lexie Coldiron earned 12 saves on 34 shots faced, also causing two turnovers. Senior Emalie Clothier muscled two turnovers, junior Katie Buck secured two draw controls and rookie Bianca Chiarella scooped up a team-high three ground balls.
- Rutgers enters the final week of the regular season No. 35 in the latest RPI. The Scarlet Knights have faced 10 opponents within the RPI top 40 and own two wins over top-40 opponents (No. 29 Stony Brook and No. 32 Delaware).
- Graduate student goalkeeper Lexie Coldiron has shined in her first season 'On the Banks', leading the nation in saves with 160 and topping the Big Ten in saves per game (10.67). Coldiron earned national and conference defensive player of the week accolades two weeks ago and has also been named a IlWomen Midseason All-American and has been added to the Tewaaraton Award Watch List.
- Coldiron has registered double digit saves nine times this season, including 12 against USC in her last time out. Coldiron stopped a career-high 21 shots against then-No. 12 Princeton on March 12 in Piscataway.
- Junior Katie Buck is sixth in the conference and 34th nationally with 6.13 draw controls per game. Her 92 draw controls rank sixth in the Big Ten, as she needs just eight draw controls to become the 11th player in program history to hit 100 for her career.
- Junior Lily Dixon enters Thursday's matchup with 32 assists this season, needing eight helpers to pass Steph Kelly (39) for the single season record at Rutgers. Dixon leads the team with 48 points on 32 assists and 16 goals this season, recently becoming the 28th player in program history to hit 100 career points.
- Senior Madison Karpe is four ground balls away from 100 for her career. Karpe has started in 70 consecutive games dating back to her freshman season in 2022, while classmate Emalie Clothier has appeared in 71 career games.
- 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 17 goals. Hilary Elsner (15 goals) and Caroline Ling (12 goals) have also contributed meaningful scoring. Charlee Thomas has started all 15 games on defense, while Bianca Chiarella is second on the team with 13 caused turnovers. Freshman Sienna Cassella has appeared in 13 games, including two starts in the midfield.
- The Terrapins enter Wednesday after they defeated Ohio State, 8-5, on Sunday in College Park. UMD has won three of its last four games, which includes a conference win on April 5 at No. 22 USC.
- Maryland is 5-1 in Big Ten Conference action this season, with its lone loss coming at No. 3 Northwestern, 16-4, on March 22 in Evanston. The Terrapins own wins over three ranked foes this spring - No. 11 Michigan, No. 13 James Madison and No. 18 USC.
- Kori Edmondson is UMD's leading scorer with 46 points on 37 goals and nine assists this season.
- Maryland leads the all-time series with Rutgers, 26-2, but the Scarlet Knights delivered a 9-8 win over the then-No. 7 Terrapins in the opening round of the 2024 Big Ten Tournament last spring. Down 7-6 early in the fourth quarter, RU tallied a 3-1 scoring run in the final 12 minutes to secure its spot in the conference semifinals for the fourth consecutive season.
- Rutgers closes its regular season at No. 13 Michigan on Saturday in Ann Arbor. First draw is set for a 1 p.m. national broadcast on Big Ten Network.
