No. 20 Women’s Lacrosse Defeats No. 17 Princeton to Advance to Second Round of NCAA Tournament

Friday, May 8

College Park, Md.

2 PM

Rutgers University

11-8, 4-4

Princeton

11-7, 5-2

Team	1	2	3	4	Final F
Rutgers	3	5	2	2	12
Princeton	3	1	3	4	11

Photo by: Dakota Moyer

No. 20 Women’s Lacrosse Defeats No. 17 Princeton to Advance to Second Round of NCAA Tournament

May 08 | Women's Lacrosse

Box Score Photo Gallery

COLLEGE PARK, Md. – No. 20 Rutgers women's lacrosse (11-8) defeated No. 17 Princeton (11-7), 12-11, in the opening round of the 2026 NCAA Tournament on Friday at SECU Stadium. The Scarlet Knights held off a late Tigers rally to earn their third NCAA Tournament victory in program history while avenging an early-season loss to Princeton back in February.

The Tigers had an opportunity to tie the game with 45 seconds remaining, but senior captain Lily Dixon forced a turnover that was scooped up by sophomore Maddie Miceli to give RU back possession. Rutgers then ran out the clock for the program's third NCAA Tournament win in school history and third under head coach Melissa Lehman.

The Scarlet Knights face No. 3 seed Maryland Sunday at noon with a chance to advance to the quarterfinals for the first time in school history. The game will stream on ESPN+.

"I've just been so proud of this team with their focus this week," Lehman said. "What they did today on that field, I just could not be more impressed. We have to rest up tonight and tomorrow we'll get back to scouting and prepping for Maryland.

Sophomore Hilary Elsner tied a career high with four goals, while classmate Caroline Ling added a hat trick in the victory. Junior Payton Tini and sophomore Delainey Sutley each had multiple goals, while senior Lily Dixon and rookie Annalise Mesina dished out two assists apiece.

"It's huge for us and the program," Elsner said of the victory. "We were happy that we could get it done against our in-state rival, but Princeton played a great game. I'm just happy we were able to get it done."

Rutgers muscled a 16-9 draw control advantage against the Tigers, as senior Katie Buck secured a game-high seven and sophomore Charlee Thomas added four. Buck also contributed three caused turnovers. Sophomore Stella Quilty earned her first career postseason win with nine saves.

Princeton scored first before the Scarlet Knights countered with three consecutive goals in the opening quarter. Ling, Sutley and Tini all netted scores during the stretch, with Sutley's unassisted goal giving RU a 3-1 lead at the first media timeout. The Tigers responded with back-to-back goals to make it 3-3 at the end of the first.

Princeton regained the lead, but Rutgers continued to attack the cage and take advantage of offensive opportunities. Elsner sparked a 5-0 scoring run in the final 10 minutes of the half, which was highlighted by a spinning finish from rookie Kate Theofield to make it 7-4 Rutgers. Sutley then added her second of the afternoon to hand the Scarlet Knights an 8-4 halftime lead.

Elsner scored twice out of the locker room, with Dixon finding the sophomore to give RU its biggest lead of the day at 10-5 with 8:39 on the clock in the third quarter. Princeton's Meg Morrisroe scored twice down the stretch in the period to make it 10-7 through three periods.

The Tigers outscored Rutgers, 4-2, in the final 15 minutes of play, netting three consecutive goals to make it an 11-10 game with six minutes on the clock. Princeton secured the next draw control, but Miceli forced a turnover to set up Elsner's final goal of the afternoon. Her highlight finish off the pass from Theofield moved the score to 12-10 at the 4:01 mark in the quarter.

Princeton's All-American Jami MacDonald brought the game back to within one two minutes later, but it would be Rutgers that would drain most of the final seconds for the win. Messina won the final draw control, as the Scarlet Knights were able to waste more than a minute of play before a shot from Sutley was saved. The Tigers moved the ball quickly, but Dixon came from behind on Princeton's Colette Quinn for the game-winning caused turnover.

"You just saw our Jersey Grit and our fight at the end," Lehman said. "It wasn't pretty and we lost the ball late. Their goalie made an incredible save [at the end]. But then we got the ball back, were gritty enough to come up with it and seal the win."