Rutgers University
Princeton
No. 20 Women’s Lacrosse Opens NCAA Tournament Friday against No. 17 Princeton
May 06 | Women's Lacrosse
PISCATAWAY, N.J. – No. 20 Rutgers women's lacrosse (10-8) opens the 2026 NCAA Tournament against No. 17 Princeton (11-6) on Friday in College Park, Maryland. First draw from SECU Stadium is set for a 2 p.m. start and will stream on ESPN+.
Tickets for Friday's opening-round matchup can be purchased here. The winner faces No. 3 seed Maryland on Sunday in College Park. That game will also stream on ESPN+ with a noon start.
After competing in the NCAA Tournament just once in its first 44 years as a varsity program, RU has advanced to the NCAA Tournament in three of the past six seasons under head coach Melissa Lehman. With Lehman at the helm, the Scarlet Knights also made back-to-back appearances in 2021 and 2022.
| How We Got Here |
• Rutgers navigated one of the toughest schedules in the country to earn an at-large bid to the national tournament, finishing the season with its most wins (10) and Big Ten victories (4) since 2022. The Scarlet Knights wrapped up the regular season with the No. 5 strength of schedule and a No. 20 RPI.
• Ten of the Scarlet Knights' 18 games this season came against programs ranked in the latest IWLCA Coaches Poll, including five currently in the top 10: No. 2 Northwestern, No. 3 Maryland, No. 4 Johns Hopkins (twice) and No. 7 Michigan.
• RU delivered six wins over the RPI Top 45, including a signature 13-12 victory over the then-No. 6 Wolverines on April 9 in Piscataway. On the flip side, Rutgers did not lose to an opponent outside the RPI Top 20.
| NCAA Tournament History |
• Friday marks the fourth NCAA Tournament appearance in program history and the first since the program earned back-to-back bids in 2021 and 2022. Rutgers competed in the NCAA Tournament for the first time in program history in 1999.
• The Scarlet Knights are 2-3 all-time in the NCAA Tournament, which includes first-round wins over No. 10 Drexel (2021) and No. 23 Saint Joseph's (2022).
| Youth Movement |
• Freshmen and sophomores have accounted for 78 percent of the team's goals (185/237) and 70 percent of the team's points (269/387) this spring. RU's top four goal scorers – Caroline Ling (58), Kate Theofield (43), Hilary Elsner (30) and Delainey Sutley (25) – are all sophomores or younger.
| Ling's Offensive Success |
• Sophomore Caroline Ling has put together an All-American caliber season in 2026. The Springboro, Ohio, native is second in the Big Ten and 10th nationally with 90 points this season on a team-high 58 goals and 32 assists.
• Already a Nike Lacrosse Midseason Media All-American, Ling has netted three or more goals 12 times this spring. Her 5.00 points per game are 13th in the NCAA, while her 3.22 goals per game are third in the Big Ten.
• Ling's 90 points this season are tied with current assistant coach Taralyn Naslonski (2022) for the program single-season record.
• Ling also became the 29th Scarlet Knight in program history to surpass 100 career points with 110 in just two seasons "On the Banks".
| Buck Shines on the Draw |
• Senior Katie Buck has established herself as one of the top draw specialists in the country, with her 157 draw controls 11th in the country. Her 8.72 draw controls per game are second in the Big Ten and 15th nationally.
• Buck's 157 draw controls are a single-season program record, while her career-high 16 draw controls on April 12 against Oregon set a school single-game record. Buck set the single-game draw control record three times this spring.
• Buck enters the postseason third all-time in career draw controls at Rutgers, with her 254 draw controls behind Spilis (313) and Meghan Ball (308).
| Dixon the Facilitator |
• Senior Lily Dixon set the program single-season assist record in the 13-12 win over No. 6 Michigan on April 9 and is up to 48 assists this season. Dixon became the first student-athlete in program history to break 100 career assists earlier this season.
• Dixon is second in the Big Ten and 15th nationally with 48 assists, while her 2.67 assists per game also rank 15th in the country. Dixon has also set a personal record for points in a season with 61.
| Theofield Rookie Success |
• Rookie Kate Theofield has been one of the best first-year scorers in the NCAA. The Smithtown, New York, native is fifth nationally amongst freshmen and second in the Big Ten with 43 goals this season.
| Tiger Rematch |
• Friday will be RU's second game against Princeton this season after it suffered a 15-9 road loss to the Tigers on February 25 at Sherrerd Field at Class of 1952 Stadium. Princeton used a 39-29 shot advantage and a 6-2 scoring run in the second quarter to defeat the Scarlet Knights in the out-of-conference matchup.
• Senior Katie Buck tied a single-game program record with 13 draw controls, helping RU to a 16-8 advantage on 50-50 opportunities. Graduate student goalkeeper Simone Koryszewski produced a season-high 13 saves, including nine in the second half and six in the third quarter. Junior Payton Tini added a hat trick.
• Ranked 17th in the country, Princeton earned an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament thanks to its 12-8 win over then-No. 15 Yale on Sunday in the Ivy League Championship.
• The Tigers lead the series with Rutgers, 16-4-1, dating back to 1977. Rutgers' last win over Princeton occurred on March 19, 2013, a 12-10 victory in Piscataway.
