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It had been a one-win season as the final game came up on the calendar. Two months-plus since a three-goal victory opened the season. And the finale was on the road.
No problem.
A hat trick performance from sophomore attacker Amanda Turturro and seven saves from senior goalkeeper Candice Dandridge led Rutgers women's lacrosse to a 7-6 victory Sunday afternoon against Michigan.
The Scarlet Knights captured their first Big Ten Conference victory with the win against the Wolverines.
"Today was a great team effort and a great way to end our regular season," said head coach Laura Brand-Sias. "Our whole team fought from top to bottom and we look forward to carrying this into next week's Big Ten Tournament at High Point Solutions Stadium."
Rutgers built a 4-1 lead, and held a 4-2 lead at the half. The Wolverines fought back, taking a 6-4 lead early in the second half. But a three-goal Scarlet Knight run to close the game secured the win at Michigan Stadium. Redshirt senior midfielder Lauren Sbrilli scored the game-winner with 4:07 remaining.
Turturro tallied two of Rutgers' three goals down the stretch, the first from senior Jenny Vlahos to cut the Wolverine lead to 6-5 with 16:57 remaining in regulation. Turturro received the feed along the right of the arc and went behind the back for the highlight-reel finish.
The Knights will face the No. 4 Ohio State Buckeyes in the quarterfinals of the Big Ten Conference Tournament on Thursday, April 30 at High Point Solutions Stadium. As the host school, RU will play in the second game of the quarterfinal round, which will begin 35 minutes after the first quarterfinal game between No. 3 Northwestern and No. 6 Michigan at 3 p.m. EST.
All five games of the Big Ten Women's Lacrosse Tournament will be steamed or aired on television. For updates on the tournament, including ticket, broadcast and schedule information, visit the tournament central page here.