Women’s Lacrosse Drops Big Ten Final, Moves onto NCAA Tournament

Like the men’s team, the Rutgers Women’s Lacrosse team couldn’t find enough offense to upend Maryland.

Rutgers (ranked 13th in the nation) stood toe to toe with third ranked Maryland for one half of Sunday’s ig Ten final, with the game knotted at 7-7. However Maryland would rally with an 11-1 run in the second, winning going away 18-8.

The loss capped off a historic season for women’s lacrosse program as it made its first ever appearance in the conference tournament final. What’s more the women are moving onto the NCAA Tournament where it will face St. Joseph’s on Friday after securing an at-large bid.

“I’m so proud of the history this team made this weekend and this season,” said head coach Melissa Lehman. “Maryland came out strong in the second half and we got caught up a bit. We weren’t getting many draw controls, so when you’re in those positions against such a potent offense, you have to get the ball off the draw. That hurt us early on.”

Taralyn Naslonski finished the game with three goals, while Marin Hartshorn had a pair of goals. Ashley Moynahan, Ashley Campo and Cassidy Spilis each had a goal in the loss.

The Scarlet Knights (15-4) secured an at-large bid and will face St. Jospeh’s at Stony Brook on Friday to open the NCAA Tournament. It’s the second straight season they have advanced to the NCAA Tournament.