WEST LONG BRANCH, N.J. ? The Monmouth University women's lacrosse team fell to in-state opponent Rutgers 11-6 on Wednesday afternoon at Kessler Field. The loss drops the Hawks' to 5-2, while the Scarlet Knights improve to 5-1.
MU's offense was led by Carolyn Raveia (Fairfax, Va. /W.T. Woodson) who scored two goals. Monmouth is now 0-5 against Rutgers all-time.
Rutgers, ranked 17th in the nation coming into the game, took the first lead when Michelle Poole scored in the first eight and half minutes, but Monmouth's Ali Pollock (Watervliet, N.Y./Shaker) answered to tie the game at 1-1. RU would score four straight goals before Katie Degen (Glen Head, N.Y./North Shore) scored to cut their lead to 5-2 at the 8:17 mark of the first half. Raveia tallied a goal before Megan Nutter (Moorestown, N.J./Moorestown) intercepted a goalie pass, crossed over at the ten-yard mark and deposited a goal as well, but MU stilled trailed 8-4 at the half.
The second half scoring was much slower compared to the first half, as Raveia cut the RU lead to 9-6 with 24:05 left in the game. Perry DeWitt (Malvern, Pa. /Great Valley) answered a RU goal at the 16:33 mark, but MU would fail to score for the remainder of the game as Rutgers would add two more goals for the 11-6 final.
RU outshot Monmouth 30-24, including 19-10 in the opening period, where they also won nine draw controls compared to four for Monmouth. The Hawks' committed 12 fouls in the game, compared to 25 for Rutgers.
Monica Johnson (Radnor, Pa./Archbishop Carroll) made nine saves in net, but lost her second decision of the season. Degen also accounted for four groundballs, as did teammate Jessica Picciuto (North Caldwell, N.J./West Essex Regional). Nutter added two groundballs, two draw controls and three caused turnovers for MU.
The Hawks return to action on Saturday, March 17 when they travel to take on Stony Brook at 4 p.m.
