No. 24 Rutgers women's lacrosse remains undefeated with victory over Monmouth
The Rutgers women's lacrosse team picked up an 11-7 home victory against Monmouth on Wednesday night. The Scarlet Knights (3-0, 0-0) held on against the Hawks (2-1, 0-0) after a back-and-forth second half.
No. 24 Rutgers battled with Monmouth to see who would get the 1st goal of the game. The Knights started the game with the ball, but the Hawks' defense prevented Rutgers from scoring easily.
Graduate student midfielder Cassidy Spilis increased her program-leading 203 goals after scoring the 1st goal for the Knights.
Although it did not score a goal of its own in the opening quarter, Monmouth managed to silence Rutgers' offense, allowing the Knights to only muster 1 goal. Each side recorded seven turnovers through the first quarter.
With an unassisted goal, freshman midfielder Payton Tini opened the second quarter efficiently with her 2nd goal of the year. Freshman midfielder Reese Robinson extended the team's advantage to 3-0 shortly after.
Sophomore attacker and midfielder Lily Dixon scored the 3rd consecutive goal of the quarter for Rutgers, assisted by sophomore midfielder Ava Chiarella, bringing the Knights into halftime with a 4-0 lead.
Despite not having a strong offensive quarter in the first, Rutgers was able to power through the second quarter to increase its lead.
Dixon found the back of the net once more right at the beginning of the third quarter. Less than a minute later, junior midfielder and attacker Victoria Goldrick picked up the Knights' 6th goal of the game while the opposition remained scoreless.
The Hawks ultimately saw their 1st goal of the game from Danielle McNeely following Goldrick's goal. The score was 6-1, with plenty of time left for Monmouth to potentially come back.
Spilis scored her 2nd unassisted goal of the game, but with back-to-back goals following the Spilis tally, the Hawks were able to cut Rutgers' lead to 7-3.
With the final goal of the third quarter coming from senior midfielder Ashley Moynahan, the Knights continued the pressure on Monmouth. In the fourth quarter, though, a more intense competition between the two teams rallied up.
The Hawks netted 2 goals within the span of 15 seconds, courtesy of Grace Curtin and Mya Brock. Rutgers only had a 3-goal lead over Monmouth at this point, making the remainder of the game a more intense matchup.
The Knights regained their momentum, though, collecting goals from Robinson, Chiarella and Tini. The Hawks finished the game off with 2 more goals to bring in the final score of 11-7.
Even though Rutgers prevailed, Monmouth's ability to gradually mount a comeback kept the possibility of either team grabbing the win possible.
The Hawks had 31 shots, 17 saves, 22 ground balls and 23 turnovers at the game's conclusion. The Knights had 17 turnovers and only seven saves but tallied 39 shots and 23 ground balls.
Fresh off a win, Rutgers will remain at home this weekend for its matchup against Army. The Knights and the Black Knights (0-3, 0-0) will begin their competition at 1 p.m. at SHI Stadium on Busch campus on Saturday. The game will be broadcast on Big Ten Plus and 88.7 WRSU-FM.
For more updates on the Rutgers women's lacrosse team, follow @TargumSports on X.
