Rutgers women's lacrosse set for home matchup against Army
The Rutgers women’s lacrosse team will host Army today at 5 p.m. at SHI Stadium on Busch campus.
The No. 17 Scarlet Knights (1-0, 0-0) are coming off a decisive 16-8 victory against Delaware. The program never lost the lead as eight different Rutgers players scored in the opening-day win.
This victory marked the Knights’ fourth consecutive win against the Blue Hens (0-1, 0-0). Freshman midfielder Emalie Clothier netted her first career goal for Rutgers while graduate student attacker Taralyn Naslonski scored a game-high 4 goals.
Graduate student attacker Stephanie Kelly and senior attacker Marin Hartshorn also bagged 4 points each to aid the victory.
To go along with the success, Hartshorn and junior midfielder Cassidy Spilis secured the 100th draw control of their respective careers during the win. Junior defender Meghan Ball is one ball control away from joining the pair. Hartshorn is also one point away from becoming the 26th player in program history to earn 100 career points.
Naslonski, who was another key contributor in Saturday's game, is 20 points away from joining the 200-point club and sits at sixth all-time in two stat categories with 180 points and 125 goals.
The Randolph, New Jersey, native would be the fourth player in program history to reach this milestone and the first player to do so in 15 years. She would join the likes of Denise Reed (232 points), Katie Batiuk (216 points) and Heather Jones (206 points).
The Knights’ next opponent, the Black Knights (0-1, 0-0), are coming off a tough 16-5 loss on the road against Temple. Army had a strong ground game with 18 ground balls and contributions from Caroline Raymond, who led the team in scoring and draw controls.
“Do I wish the score was different yesterday? Of course, but what I am proud of is the fight and heart my team has in the (locker room), huddles & on the field. I know we’ll be better for it. That’s why we schedule these games. Back to work we go,” said Army head coach Michelle Tumolo on Twitter after the loss.
The Black Knights are predicted to finish third in the Patriot League after their first-round exit in the Patriot League Championships last season. Before the start of this season, Raymond and Ceara Sweeney were also named to the league’s Preseason All-League team.
The game will be streamed on Big Ten Network+ and live stats will be provided at the start. This will be the two teams' first-ever matchup.
For updates on the Rutgers women's lacrosse team, follow @TargumSports on Twitter.
