No. 9 Women’s Lacrosse Rides Hot Start, Defeats Georgetown, 15-8

On a chilly sun-splashed Saturday afternoon at Shi Stadium, the Scarlet Knights faced off against their old Big East foe, the Georgetown Hoyas. The Knights entered the match with a record of 2-0, following up a come-from-behind opening season win against a ranked Jacksonville squad by defeating Monmouth 11-5 after trailing 5-4 at halftime.

The Knights would carry that momentum from West Long Branch to Piscataway and blitz the Hoyas in the opening two quarters. RU scored the first three goals of the game, including two by Cassidy Spilis, who finds herself on the Tewaaraton awards watch list for the nation’s best player in women’s D1 lacrosse.

Tatum Geist would get the Hoyas on the scoreboard at the 2:16 mark. Rutgers would counter quickly though as sophomore Emalie Clothier netted her first goal of the season with ten seconds remaining, putting the Knights back up 4-1.

Quarter 2 was all Knights, as they outscored Georgetown 5-0. Kate Carolonza and Spilis both notched two goals apiece, with standout attacker Marin Hartshorn adding her own goal and putting Rutgers up by a commanding 9-1 lead at the 3:47 mark heading into the half.

In the 3rd quarter, Hartshorn would score once again, putting the Knights up 10-1. Following an Erin Bakes goal at 11:00 for the Hoyas, Spilis would score nine seconds later to put the Knights back up nine goals, 11-2. The teams would trade goals, with Rutgers holding a 12-3 lead with 8:23 left in the 3rd. That’s when the Hoyas offense would finally settle in and start making noise. Georgetown would reel off four consecutive goals in a span of less than three minutes, to pull within 12-7. Red-hot Bakes would tally four goals in the quarter for the Hoyas.

Rutgers’s defense would settle down and the teams would play a scoreless final five minutes in the period.

The Knights would seize control back early in the 4th and put away any chance at a Hoyas comeback. At 13:30, Hartshorn would net herself a hat trick. Then at 11:49, Ashley Moynahan scored on a woman-up situation, and at 9:25, Spilis would score her 6th goal of the match, and 12th of the young season, increasing the Knights lead, 15-7. Georgetown would cap the scoring at 1:35. Final score: RU 15, GU 8.

The Knights improve to 3-0 while Georgetown drops to 1-2.

Notable

• RU’s defense has now allowed 8 goals or less in three consecutive games
• Meghan Ball set program records for career caused turnovers and career draw controls with 111 and 230, respectively (courtesy Rutgers Athletics)
• Junior keeper Sophia Cardello made nine stops

Quotable

“Our defense really clamped down early on and Cardello registered a ton of saves to give us plenty of offensive possessions. We found a rhythm on offense as well. We were really patient and were able to find open looks and bury them in the back of the net.”

Head Coach Melissa Lehman (courtesy Rutgers Athletics)

Next Up

Another trip to West Point, this time for the woman’s team. Saturday, February 25 in West Point, New York at noon against the undefeated 2-0 Black Knights.