Women’s Lacrosse Muscles 9-8 Road Win at No. 25 Ohio State

Thursday, March 19

Columbus, Ohio

6 PM

Rutgers University

6-4, 1-1

Ohio State

6-3, 1-1

Rutgers

Ohio St.

Photo by: Ohio State Athletics

Women’s Lacrosse Muscles 9-8 Road Win at No. 25 Ohio State

Mar 19 | Women's Lacrosse

Box Score

COLUMBUS, Ohio – Rutgers women's lacrosse (6-4, 1-1) defeated No. 25 Ohio State (6-3, 1-1), 9-8, on Thursday night at Ohio State Lacrosse Stadium. Tied 8-8 during the game's final possession, Ohio native Caroline Ling found freshman Annalise Messina for the game winner in the closing seconds to secure the Scarlet Knights' first Big Ten Conference win of the season.

The victory marked the 19th ranked win for the program since 2021 under head coach Melissa Lehman and the eighth consecutive over the Buckeyes in the all-time series.

Ling, who grew up just over an hour away in Springboro, Ohio, finished with a game-high five points on three goals and two assists. Senior Lily Dixon dished out a game-high three assists, while rookies Messina and Kate Theofield added two goals apiece off the bench.

RU's defense was outstanding against the Buckeyes, holding the home team to just 21 shots while forcing OSU into 19 turnovers. Rookie Gabby Mariani set career highs with four caused turnover and three ground balls. Sophomore Charlee Thomas and senior Katie Buck helped Rutgers to an 11-8 advantage on the 50-50 opportunities with four and three draw controls, respectively.

After the Buckeyes netted back-to-back goals in the first three minutes of the game, RU settled down for the remainder of the quarter. Rookie Stella D'Ambro found a cutting Theofield at the 10-minute mark for the Scarlet Knights' first goal, while Theofield's second off a pass from Dixon tied the game at 2-2 with 9:24 left. Senior Ava Chiarella and Messina each added goals to give RU a 4-2 lead through the first 15 minutes of play.

Defense on both sides dictated the second quarter, with sophomore Hilary Elsner's score at the 5:42 mark in the period proving to be the quarter's only score. Rutgers took a 5-2 lead into halftime.

RU's defense was stout in the first half, forcing Ohio State into 13 turnovers and allowing just six shots on goal before the midpoint. Sophomore goalkeeper Stella Quilty had four saves heading into the locker room.

Rutgers continued to take control in the third quarter. Ling netted back-to-back unassisted goals, with her second making it 7-3 Scarlet Knights with 9:34 left on the third-quarter clock.

Ohio State fought back down the stretch, netting four consecutive goals. Camryn Callaghan tied the game 7-7 with 6:02 left to play before Ling gave the Scarlet Knights back the lead off a pass from D'Ambro.

The Buckeyes once again tied the score, but Thomas secured a clutch draw control to give RU the final possession of regulation. In the closing seconds, Ling found Messina in traffic, as the freshmen finished the goal for the win.

Up Next
Rutgers hits the West Coast for its next two games, beginning at USC on March 28 in Los Angeles.