Rutgers women's lacrosse powers past Vermont
The Rutgers women's lacrosse team defeated Vermont by a score of 15-7 on Saturday. The victory was fully a team effort as 11 different Scarlet Knights (6-7, 0-5) scored goals against the Catamounts (5-7, 2-2).
The first quarter was a defensive battle. Senior midfielder Ashley Campo scored the 1st goal of the match for Rutgers after approximately 6 minutes of play. Vermont responded with 4:26 remaining in the opening quarter thanks to a goal from McKenzie Ballard.
Sophomore midfielder and attacker Michelle Warren netted a goal less than 2 minutes later to put the Knights ahead again. Then, with less than 10 seconds left in the quarter, freshman attacker and midfielder Lily Dixon scored to extend Rutgers' lead to 2 goals heading into the second quarter.
The Knights started the second quarter off quickly, as junior attacker Kate Carolonza scored just 14 seconds into play. Shortly after, freshman midfielder Gianna Eglauf netted her 1st collegiate goal to give Rutgers a 5-1 lead.
Kendall Traveis would respond with a goal for the Catamounts to stop the Knights' 4-goal scoring run, but Eglauf fired right back to put Rutgers ahead by 4 goals again.
Both teams would go back and forth in the final 4 minutes of the second quarter before a goal by Ballard with 27 seconds left in the quarter would lower the Knights' lead to 3 goals. Though, Rutgers still had a 7-4 lead heading into halftime.
The Knights would pull away in the third quarter, scoring 6 goals and shutting out Vermont. Freshman attacker Ava Kane scored 2 goals in the quarter, senior midfielder Cassidy Spilis and senior attacker Jenna Byrne both netted 1 goal and senior attacker Lindsay Newton scored a goal from a woman-up advantage.
Freshman midfielder Kayleigh Coughlin scored the final goal of the quarter and her 1st collegiate goal, which gave Rutgers a 13-4 lead heading into the fourth quarter.
With the game definitively out of reach, the Catamounts outscored the Knights 3-2 in the final quarter. Vermont started the quarter with 2 straight goals from Erin Kloostra and Kristiana Strtak in the opening minute. Spilis secured her hat trick and Rutgers' 14th goal with 9:17 left in the contest.
In the final 3 minutes of the quarter, both teams traded goals as the Knights earned the comfortable win.
The win was completely due to a team effort, as 13 players produced points for Rutgers. Graduate student attacker Marin Hartshorn dished out a team-high five assists. Spilis netted her ninth hat trick of the season.
The Knights will now turn their attention to Ohio State as they aim for their first conference win of the season on Thursday. The game will be played at home at SHI Stadium on Busch campus. Face-off is scheduled for 6 p.m., and the game will be broadcasted on the Big Ten Network and 88.7 WRSU-FM.
For more updates on the Rutgers women's lacrosse team, follow @TargumSports on Twitter.
