Cassidy Spilis leads Rutgers women's lacrosse to 1st Big Ten win with late rally against Ohio State
The Rutgers women's lacrosse team defeated Ohio State 13-11 on Thursday night. The Scarlet Knights (7-8, 1-5) scored 6 goals in the fourth quarter to earn their first Big Ten win of the season against the Buckeyes (7-8, 1-5).
Ohio State started the game with an early goal from Annie Hargraves. Approximately 12 minutes later, Rutgers leveled the game as freshman midfielder Reese Robinson found the back of the cage to make it 1-1 after 15 minutes of play.
The game came to life in the second quarter, as 9 goals were scored between both teams. The Buckeyes came out of the gates hot, going on a 3-0 run before freshman midfielder Payton Tini converted her free position attempt to end the run. Ohio State would then go on another 3-0 scoring run to take a 7-2 lead, its largest of the night. The Knights ended the second quarter with goals from junior midfielder Alexa Corbin and graduate student midfielder Cassidy Spilis to make it 7-4 heading into halftime.
The third quarter was a close battle. Both teams began the quarter trading goals, but junior midfielder and attacker Michelle Warren and Spilis both found the back of the cage to keep Rutgers alive. Jamie Lasda scored the last goal of the third quarter to give the Buckeyes a 9-7 lead heading into the final quarter.
After Leah Sax started the fourth quarter with a tally, the Knights exploded on offense. Rutgers went on a 6-0 scoring run, which was sparked by Spilis completing her hat trick and becoming the all-time leader in career points scored in program history.
Tini then netted her 2nd of the night, followed by 2 more goals from Spilis to catapult the Knights into the lead. Rutgers did not look back from there, as Corbin completed her hat trick with 2 more goals. Sax netted a consolation goal for Ohio State, but it was too little too late, as the Knights secured the come-from-behind victory.
Spilis stuffed the stat sheet with 5 goals, six draw controls, four ground balls and two caused turnovers. Spilis also became the second player in program history to record 300 draw controls. Senior goalkeeper Sophia Cardello had 12 saves.
With the win, Rutgers will be the No. 6 seed in the Big Ten Tournament. Before that, the Knights will remain on the road for their game against Vermont on Sunday, which will begin at noon.
For more updates on the Rutgers women's lacrosse team, follow @TargumSports on X.
