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The Rutgers women’s lacrosse team upset #18/12 James Madison on the road on Saturday, winning 12-9 and improving their record to 4-3 on the season.
VICTORY! #RUWLAX defeats No. 18/12 James Madison, 12-9, for the road win! pic.twitter.com/4YNehUoC6R
— Rutgers Women's Lax (@rulaxbrand) March 11, 2017
Junior attacker Joanna Reilly led the scoring with 3 goals and senior attacker/co-captain Amanda Turturro dished out 5 assists, as well as 1 goal. Redshirt junior attacker Nicole Kopyta and freshman midfielder Samantha Budd added 2 goals each and senior midfielder Kristina Dunphey had 3 points on the day (1 goal, 2 assists). Junior goalie Bianca Dente record six saves and held a second straight opponent under 10 scores in a game.
“It was a total team effort today and I’m so proud of this group,” said head coach Laura Brand-Sias. “We controlled some vital aspects of the game at key times and fought for a full 60 minutes. James Madison is a very talented program, so we’re excited to build off of this victory.”
After starting the season 2-1, Rutgers suffered back to back losses to Delaware (17-5) and to #10 Penn (11-9). They have now responded with consecutive road wins, after they beat Drexel in Philadelphia last weekend 9-8 in overtime. The win over James Madison was their first victory over a ranked opponent since last spring.
This was the first ranked victory for #RUWLAX since it defeated No. 19 Ohio State on May 5, 2016 at the Big Ten Tournament.
— Rutgers Women's Lax (@rulaxbrand) March 11, 2017
On the season, Kopyta has scored multiple times in every game and leads the team with 15 goals. She also has added 1 assist and is second on the squad with 16 points. The team’s point leader is Turturro with 21. She is second in goals with 11 and leads the team with 10 assists. Dunphey is third on the team with 15 points, as she is third in goals with 8 and second in assists with 7. Nine players have scored 6 or more goals on the season, giving them a balanced offensive attack. For a complete look at the team’s statistics so far this season, click here.
The women’s lacrosse team will return home to High Point Solutions Stadium this Wednesday, after being rescheduled due to Tuesday’s projected snowstorm, to take on Manhattan (0-4) at 3:30 p.m. Rutgers is scheduled to open Big Ten play on March 18th at Penn State.