PISCATAWAY, N.J. – Rutgers women's lacrosse (8-5, 2-2) hosts No. 3 Northwestern (10-2, 4-0) on Sunday at SHI Stadium. First draw is set for 1 p.m., with the game streamed on Big Ten Plus.

Sunday serves as Senior Day, with Makenna Boutin, Lexie Coldiron, Emalie Clothier, Alexa Corbin, Victoria Goldrick, Madison Karpe, Kelsey Klein, Lauren Messinese, Tori Shenk and Michelle Warren all set to be recognized pregame. Since arriving on campus in 2022, this year's senior class has combined for 40 victories, three consecutive Big Ten semifinal appearances and trips to both the Big Ten title game and NCAA Tournament.
 

Last Time Out

• Despite a fourth-quarter rally, Rutgers lost at Penn State, 12-10, on Thursday night in University Park. Down six heading into the fourth quarter, the Scarlet Knights produced a 4-0 scoring run to draw within two before the Nittany Lions held on for the win.
• Despite RU forcing 17 turnovers, PSU used a five-goal third quarter and a 17-9 advantage on the draw to secure the home victory. Graduate student goalkeeper Lexie Coldiron produced a game-high 12 saves on 32 shots faced, finishing with three ground balls and two caused turnovers.
• Rutgers featured six different goal scorers, led by two goals apiece from redshirt freshman Samantha Swanovich and rookie Caroline Ling. Senior Alexa Corbin, junior Ava Chiarella, and freshmen Hilary Elsner and Delainey Sutley also tallied scores, while Ling finished with a team-high three points on two goals and a helper. Junior Lily Dixon finished with two caused turnovers and a team-high five draw controls.

Coldiron – Big Ten & National DPOTW

• Coldiron was named the IWLCA National Defensive Player of the Week and Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week, announced Tuesday. The Pylesville, Maryland, native anchored a Rutgers defense that allowed just eight goals and forced 18 turnovers in a 12-8 victory over then-No. 21 Ohio State on Sunday, securing six saves in the ranked win.
• Coldiron is the first IWLCA National Defensive Player of the Week winner for the program since 2023. Coldiron also earned Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week for the first time, becoming the first since Sophia Cardello earned weekly conference recognition in 2023.
• Coldiron picked up the 600th save and 150th ground ball of her career in the win over the Buckeyes.
• The nation's leader in saves, Coldiron was recently added to the Tewaaraton Award Watch List and was named a Midseason All-American by Inside Lacrosse/ILWomen.

National Exposure

• Three of RU's final four regular season games will appear on Big Ten Network.
  • Thurs., April 10 vs. USC (8 p.m.)
  • Wed., April 16 vs. Maryland (6 p.m.)
  • Sun., April 19 at Michigan (1 p.m.)
• Including last week's matchup at Johns Hopkins on ESPNU, Rutgers' five regular season televised games are the most since joining the conference in 2014-15.

Building a Resume

• Rutgers checks in at No. 34 in the latest RPI, released Thursday.
• The Scarlet Knights own three victories over the RPI Top 40 (No. 21 Stony Brook, No. 28 Ohio State & No. 39 Delaware).
• RU's final four games of the regular season come against opponents in the RPI Top 25 (No. 3 Northwestern, No. 11 Maryland, No. 20 Michigan and No. 24 USC).

What Else to Know

• Coldiron leads the country in saves (135) and leads conference and 11th nationally with 10.40 saves per game. Coldiron is also third in the Big Ten and ninth nationally with a .515 save percentage.
• Among active career leaders, Coldiron is second, second in saves (616) and fifth in ground balls (153).
• Junior Katie Buck ranks third in the Big Ten with 89 draw controls. She needs just 11 draw controls to become the 11th player in program history to hit 100 for her career.
• Junior Lily Dixon is eighth in the conference with 46 points and third with 30 assists. Dixon is just 10 assists away from setting the program's all-time single-season record.
• Senior Madison Karpe is four 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 co-leads the team with 17 goals. Hilary Elsner (15 goals) and Caroline Ling (11 goals) have also contributed meaningful scoring. Charlee Thomas has started all 13 games on defense, while Bianca Chiarella is second on the team with 12 caused turnovers. Freshman Sienna Cassella has appeared in 12 games, including two starts in the midfield.

About Northwestern

• The Wildcats enter Sunday with a 10-2 record, winning at No. 4 Johns Hopkins, 18-5, in their last time out. NU's two loses have come to No. 1 Boston College and No. 2 North Carolina, as Northwestern owns wins over six ranked foes this season.
• NU is third in the country in scoring defense (7.67), third in scoring margin (8.75) and fourth in scoring offense (16.42). The Wildcats are also fifth nationally in draw control percentage (17.42).
• Madison Taylor leads the country with 82 points on 59 goals and 23 assists this season. The All-American has scored five or more points 11 times this season and has netted five or more goals eight times.
• Northwestern leads the all-time series with Rutgers, 18-1. The Wildcats defeated the Scarlet Knights, 22-11, last season in Evanston in their last meeting.

Up Next

• Rutgers hosts No. 18 USC on Thursday, April 10 in Piscataway. First draw from SHI Stadium is set for a prime time 8 p.m. national broadcast on Big Ten Network.