No. 13 Rutgers women's lacrosse set for midweek matchup against Wagner
After two consecutive losses last week, the Rutgers women’s lacrosse team hopes to change its recent form in its next game against Wagner. The No. 13 Scarlet Knights (10-3, 2-2) will host the Seahawks (5-7, 3-1) on Wednesday at 6 p.m. at SHI Stadium on Busch campus.
Earlier this week, Rutgers jumped two ranks in the ILWomen/IWLCA Coaches Poll from No. 15 in last week’s national rankings.
The Knights lost last week’s games against Northwestern and Arizona State. Their game versus the then-No. 23 Sun Devils (7-6, 5-2) was an overtime upset after Arizona State’s Taylor Pinzone found Carley Adams in the final minute of overtime to secure the victory.
In the 13-12 loss, junior defender Meghan Ball caused a game-high five turnovers, with five draw controls and three ground balls. At the same time, senior attacker Marin Hartshorn recorded her fourth hat trick of the season.
Last Thursday, Rutgers' 21-13 loss against the then-No. 3 Wildcats (12-2, 4-0) saw graduate student attacker Taralyn Naslonski register her 235th career point. This feat propelled her to first in all-time scoring in Knights history, passing Denise Reed who had 233.
Wagner lost its last game against Northeast Conference rival Mount St. Mary’s 15-4. The loss marked the program's first conference defeat and broke its three-game winning streak.
After the team's matchup against Northwestern, Rutgers and head coach Melissa Lehman sat down with B1G Today host Rick Pizzo to talk about the many milestones the 2022 squad has reached thus far in their season.
“I felt that Rutgers being in the Big Ten was a sleeping giant,” Lehman said. “I couldn't wait to get started with this program.”
Since she took control of the program in 2019, Lehman has earned a 22-16 overall record with an appearance in the NCAA Tournament.
Graduate student attacker Stephanie Kelly also spoke on the show.
“I think we're going to have massive defensive starts, our draws going to get the ball, and … we're going to have seven offensive threats,” Kelly stated. She sits second in assists in the Big Ten and is top ten in the nation.
In the upcoming matchup, the Seahawks and the Knights' all-time series sit at 1-0 in Rutgers' favor. The Knights last faced Wagner in 1997 under head coach Anna Marie Vesco in a 21-0 home win.
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