No. 20 Women’s Lacrosse Loses to No. 3 Maryland in NCAA Tournament Second Round

Sunday, May 10

College Park, Md.

Noon

Rutgers University

11-10, 4-4

Maryland

18-3, 6-2

Team	1	2	3	4	Final F
Rutgers	1	4	2	1	8
Maryland	6	2	2	1	11

Rutgers women's lacrosse lost to Maryland, 11-8, in the second round of the NCAA Tournament

Photo by: Howard Smith

No. 20 Women’s Lacrosse Loses to No. 3 Maryland in NCAA Tournament Second Round

May 10 | Women's Lacrosse

Box Score

COLLEGE PARK, Md. – No. 20 Rutgers women's lacrosse (11-9) lost to No. 3 seed Maryland (17-3), 11-7, on Sunday in the second round of the NCAA Tournament at SECU Stadium. The Scarlet Knights outscored the Terrapins across the second and third quarters, but UMD allowed just one goal in the final 18 minutes of play to advance to the quarterfinals.

Sophomore Caroline Ling produced a team-high four points on two goals and two assists, while classmate Hilary Elsner and freshman Kate Theofield added three points apiece. Junior Alex Popham tallied two goals.

Sophomore Bianca Chiarella tied a career high with four caused turnovers, while freshman Annalise Messina secured a team-high four draw controls. Sophomore Stella Quilty registered 10 saves in the loss.

"I just saw so much passion from this team and so much leadership from our seniors," said head coach Melissa Lehman. "This team is just so connected. They gave so much belief and effort into everyone on this team. The seniors left an incredible legacy, and the future is bright because of them."

Competing in just their fourth NCAA Tournament in program history, the Scarlet Knights picked up their third NCAA Tournament win all-time on Friday in the opening round against No. 17 Princeton. The victory was the third for Lehman, who has taken the program to three NCAA Tournaments in the past six seasons after the program advanced just once prior to her arrival.

Navigating one of the toughest schedules in the country, RU wrapped up the season with its most overall (11) and Big Ten (4) wins since 2022. Twelve of Rutgers' 20 games this spring came against ranked opponents. Its victories over No. 6 Michigan, No. 17 Princeton and No. 25 Ohio State marked the most ranked wins in a season since 2023. The Scarlet Knights have produced victories over 21 ranked opponents during Lehman's tenure.

Five student-athletes earned 2026 All-Big Ten accolades – Katie Buck (First Team), Caroline Ling (Second Team), Gabby Mariani (Freshman), Annalise Messina (Freshman) and Kate Theofield (Freshman) – the most all-conference selections for the program since its historic 2022 campaign. Buck and Ling also collected Honorable Mention All-America laurels from USA Lacrosse Magazine, marking six consecutive seasons Rutgers has produced at least one All-American under Lehman.

Rutgers smashed several individual program records this spring. Ling passed current assistant coach Taralyn Naslonski for the team's single-season points record with 97 in 2026, while also becoming the 29th Scarlet Knight in program history to surpass 100 career points. Buck secured the program's single-season and single-game draw control records, while senior captain Lily Dixon produced the most career assists (122) and single-season assists (50) in school history. Theofield's 44 goals were the most for a Rutgers freshman in the Big Ten era.

Maryland used a dominant first quarter to pull away early, outdrawing Rutgers, 8-0, while netting six goals in the first 15 minutes of action. Elsner netted the Scarlet Knights' only goal in the period off a pass from Ling midway through the first. UMD took a 6-1 lead into the second quarter.

RU began to chip away at Maryland's lead, outscoring the Terrapins 4-2 in the second quarter. Theofield found Elsner at the 12:12 mark in the period, while back-to-back goals from Ling and junior Alex Popham made it 7-4 with 3:20 left in the half. RU countered a UMD goal with a finish from Theofield in the closing seconds to make it just an 8-5 deficit at the midpoint.

Rutgers continued to battle out of the locker room, twice getting to within two scores. Ling found sophomore Delainey Sutley to make it an 8-6 game, while Popham drilled an unassisted goal four minutes later to make it 9-7. Maryland ended the quarter with a finish from Keeley Block for a 10-7 advantage heading into the fourth.

Both teams traded goals in the final stanza. Ling netted her second of the day in the final minute to pull the team back to within three, but Maryland would hold on for the win.

"We have so much talent on the field returning, and they have gotten so many minutes of experience on the field," Lehman said. "I told them that with a game like this, sometimes a close game like this is hard to swallow, but I know it's going to fuel them as we go into the offseason."