PISCATAWAY, N.J.- Monmouth University's women's lacrosse team held an early lead against in-state rival Rutgers (3-3) on Saturday afternoon but the Scarlet Knights pulled away in the second half for 13-7 victory at RU Turf Field.
The Hawks (1-6), dropped their third straight game with the six goal loss to RU. Senior Sam Lillo (Short Hills, N.J./Milburn) scored a trio of first half goals, which gave MU the lead twice in the first 10 minutes of play. The Hawks were backstopped by freshman Katie Donohoe (Peterborough, Ontario/Holy Cross Secondary School) who tied a career-high with 13 saves against the Scarlet Knights.
"I was really proud of our team today," said Head Coach Denise Wescott. "Our effort was there, we worked very hard to stay in the game. Offensively, the team worked really well together to get good looks at the cage. Our shooting could have been a little bit better but I thought we really matched Rutgers. It was a turning point for us and our program, that we could take on a big program and match their level of play. We had some unforced errors in the first half but we cleaned that up. Our defense handled the pressure from some of their big guns and our goalie made some big saves. We were better on the draw today and our offense had some good looks but needed to finish a little more. I'm still happy with today's effort and our future looks brighter."
Rutgers' Annie McGinley scored the first goal of the game just 25 seconds in but three minutes later Lillo took a feed from Kaleigh Gibbons (Candia, N.H./Central/Robert Morris) and tied the game up. One minute later the senior captain gave the Hawks their first lead of the day on an unassisted marker. With 22:51 to play in the first Rutgers tied the game up at 2-2 but Lillo once again gave MU the lead on an unassisted goal with 20:55 on the clock. Rutgers' offense took charge, scoring four unanswered goals over the next 11 minutes, including two from the stick of McGinley, to take a 5-3 advantage. Sophomore Alex Marino (Howell, N.J./Freehold Twp.) got the Hawks within one with her free position goal (3:28) going into the break.
Each team scored in the first two minutes of the second half but Rutgers' Ali Steinberg scored three of the next four goals to take an 11-5 lead midway through the frame. Monmouth got two goals from senior Lynn White (Deer Park, N.Y./Deer Park) but the Scarlet Knights added a pair of scores also, to defeat MU 13-7.
Lillo finished with a team-high three goals, with White and Marino scored two each. Freshman midfielder Allison Stathius (Delran, N.J./Delran) had a solid game off the bench for Monmouth, finishing with team highs in ground balls (3) and caused turnovers (3).
Rutgers held a 32-23 advantage in shots but other than that the stat sheet was even for the most part. Steinberg led all scorers with seven points on five goals and two assists while McGinley had four points on three goals and an helper. Lily Kalata played the majority of minutes in net for RU, making six saves.
Monmouth will look to snap its three-game losing streak on Tuesday against Lafayette. Game time is set for 7 p.m.
