No. 22 Rutgers women's lacrosse bounces back with strong win over Oregon
The Rutgers women's lacrosse team defeated Oregon 15-7 Sunday afternoon at SHI Stadium on Busch campus. The Scarlet Knights (5-1, 0-0) bounced back after falling to Princeton last week and handed the Ducks (4-1, 0-0) their first loss of the season.
No. 22 Rutgers started off the game with 2 quick goals from graduate student midfielder Cassidy Spilis and senior midfielder Ashley Moynahan.
Fourteen seconds after Moynahan's goal, Riley Taylor scored Oregon's 1st goal of the afternoon. The Knights would not let the Ducks build off Taylor's goal, though, and went on a 3-0 scoring run to end the first quarter. Senior midfielder Mikayla Dever, senior attacker Kate Carolonza and freshman midfielder Payton Tini each scored as Rutgers led 5-1 after 15 minutes of play.
The Knights would continue their offensive prowess in the second quarter.
Spilis and Tini each found the back of the cage yet again courtesy of junior midfielder and attacker Victoria Goldrick, who assisted both goals.
Oregon was able to get another tally via Morgan McCarthy, but Rutgers would put its foot on the gas pedal once again with 2 goals from sophomore attacker Ava Kane and 1 goal from sophomore midfielder and defender Kimberly Greenblatt.
The Knights led 10-2 at halftime.
McCarthy found the back of the net for the second time to begin the second half. Spilis and Kane then both completed their hat tricks, followed by McCarthy getting her hat trick.
Junior midfielder and attacker Michelle Warren and freshman midfielder Reese Robinson joined in on the scoring party, netting the last 2 goals of the third quarter to put Rutgers up 14-4.
The Ducks found momentum in the final quarter, scoring 3 straight goals, but could not overcome their deficit. Graduate student defender Jessica Beneducci ended the game by scoring her 1st career goal during her time on the Banks.
The Knights finished the contest with 36 shots, 12 draw controls and 21 ground balls.
Senior goalkeeper Sophia Cardello recorded a season-high 12 saves to continue her dominance between the pipes.
Rutgers will look to build off its momentum when it begins Big Ten play against Penn State on Saturday. The contest will begin at 1 p.m. and will be broadcast on Big Ten Plus.
"Today was such a feel-good win," said head coach Melissa Lehman. "This team played with a lot of passion. I was so happy that we got so many players in the scoring column and shared the ball so effectively. That is great lacrosse, and that is what Rutgers lacrosse is all about."
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