No. 14 Rutgers women's lacrosse faces No. 13 Michigan in ranked Big Ten matchup
The Rutgers women’s lacrosse team will face Big Ten rival Michigan tomorrow at 7 p.m. at SHI Stadium on Busch campus. In this week's national poll, the No. 14 Scarlet Knights (9-1, 1-1) moved back one spot from No. 13. Rutgers' upcoming opponent, the No. 13 Wolverines (9-2, 1-1), replaced the Knights' position nationally.
Rutgers is coming off of a nail-biting victory, defeating Johns Hopkins with a last-second goal from graduate student attacker Taralyn Naslonski.
The 12-11 victory was nothing short of a battle. The Knights trailed the No. 20 Blue Jays (6-5, 0-2) for the first three quarters of the game until sophomore midfielder Ashley Moynahan tied the game at 10 in the final 5 minutes.
Just 2 minutes later, junior midfielder Cassidy Spilis added another goal and put Rutgers in the lead for the first time since early in the first quarter. After Johns Hopkins’ final goal, senior attacker Marin Hartshorn found Naslonski, who put the game to bed with 6 seconds remaining.
"We talk about finishing and fighting until the end," said head coach Melissa Lehman after the win. "This team just believes in themselves, and they fight until the end. That gritty play down the stretch is what won us the game today."
The win marks the Knights’ third win over a ranked opponent and first victory over a conference rival this season. Rutgers hopes to add another win in both those categories tomorrow night.
Michigan lost against the best team in conference play this weekend, No. 3 Northwestern, 12-9. The Wolverines sit even in Big Ten play and are tied third in overall win percentage.
Arielle Weissman tied her career-best 14 saves in the program's second loss of the season. The Wolverines’ top goal scorers, Kaitlyn Mead and Kaley Thompson, combined for five goals over the weekend. Erin Garvey also scored a pair of goals for Michigan.
The all-time series between the teams is 4-3 in favor of the Knights. The Wolverines won the last two matchups against Rutgers in the 2021 spring season.
While the Knights sit first in conference standings in overall win percentage, Michigan ranks second nationally in scoring defense with 7.73 goals allowed per game.
The matchup will be a test for both teams as the Wolverines have a perfect away record this season. The Big Ten Network will stream the game at the first draw, and live stats will be provided on ScarletKnights.com.
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