Rutgers women's lacrosse gets back in win column with 14-8 victory over Hofstra
The Rutgers women’s lacrosse team picked up a 14-8 win against Hofstra on Wednesday night. After losing the past five games consecutively, the Scarlet Knights (6-6, 0-4) achieved their first victory in exactly one month.
After an hour-long rain delay, the matchup began at 7 p.m. and Rutgers came out ready when the game finally started. Junior midfielder and attacker Michelle Warren tallied the 1st goal of the game approximately 1 minute in.
It was not long after Warren’s goal that junior midfielder and attacker Victoria Goldrick scored another goal for the Knights. Assisted by junior midfielder Alexa Corbin, Goldrick effortlessly trickled the ball into the net.
Rutgers took an early 3-0 lead thanks to another swift goal by Warren. Following Warren’s goal, Corbin notched an unassisted goal of her own.
The Knights picked up 2 more goals to end the first quarter from graduate student midfielder Cassidy Spilis. The Pride (7-5, 4-0) finally scored their 1st goal when Melissa Sconone found the back of the cage with 2:49 left in the opening quarter.
Rutgers entered the second quarter leading by 5 goals, and Corbin quickly extended that, collecting her 2nd goal of the game approximately 3 minutes in.
Despite the Knights’ scoring spree slowing down in the second quarter, they were still able to prevent Hofstra from scoring for much of the quarter. Later, with 3:18 left in the quarter, graduate student defender Jessica Beneducci’s goal put Rutgers back on the scoreboard, and the floodgates opened after that.
Spilis scored 2 goals in a row in less than a minute. Thanks to Spilis’ goals, the Knights entered double digits, leading the Pride 10-1.
Hofstra was able to score 1 goal from Lauren Coletti in the quarter, but Rutgers responded with 2 more goals to end the half, courtesy of Warren notching her 3rd goal of the match and Goldrick striking with a buzzer-beating goal. The Knights led 12-2 heading into the locker rooms.
During the third quarter of the game, Rutgers scored just 2 goals. Sophomore attacker and midfielder Lily Dixon picked up 1 of the 2 goals at the beginning of the quarter, while Spilis notched the next one with just 6 seconds remaining. In the meantime, the Pride tallied goals from Sconone and Julia West.
The Knights entered the last quarter with a 14-4 lead, but Rutgers was unable to score for the remainder of the game. Hofstra, on the other hand, continued to fight during the final stretch.
The Pride scored 4 goals during the quarter. Nikki Mennella and Kerry Walser each tallied a goal, while Kristen Redding scored 2 straight goals to end the game.
Despite the bad weather, the game was definitely a memorable one for the Cardello family. Senior goalkeeper Sophia Cardello battled against her sister, Luchianna Cardello, who served as Hofstra's main goalkeeper.
The Knights will remain at home on Saturday for a game against Johns Hopkins at 5 p.m., which will be broadcast on Big Ten Network and 88.7 WRSU FM.
For more updates on the Rutgers women's lacrosse team, follow @TargumSports on X.
