WEST LONG BRANCH, NJ- Monmouth University's (4-2) women's lacrosse team dominated the draw circle and scored ten second half goals to down in-state rival Rutgers (4-2) by a score of 16-12 on Wednesday afternoon in West Long Branch.
 
With the game tied at 12-12 with 7:29 left in regulation the Hawks launched four unanswered goals over the next six minutes, including a pair from senior Allison Turturro (Sound Beach, NY/Miller Place) to take a commanding 16-12 lead. During that run the Hawks won four consecutive draw controls, capping a dominating effort around the circle that had Monmouth winning 24 of the 30 draw controls including all but two in the second half.
 
The Hawks were led offensively by Turturro and junior Caroline Bleck (Farmingdale, NY/Farmingdale) who each had five goals while senior Nicole Ceraso (Massapequa, NY/Plainedge) had eight on three goals and five assists. Seniors Megan Hart (Clarksville, MD/Atholton) and Rachel Mills (Denville, NJ/Morris Catholic) each had nine draw controls while Monmouth goalie Stephanie Delliturri (Ringoes, NJ/Hunterdon Central) had 10 saves in the game including two huge stops late in the first half to keep the game close.
 
Monmouth scored just 30 seconds into the game but Rutgers evened up the score just 45 seconds later. The teams went back and forth before the Scarlet Knights took a 6-4 lead late in the first half. Bleck notched a pair of goals to even it up at 6-6 with 2:44 left to send the two teams deadlocked into halftime.
 
NOTES AND QUOTES
 
"I think a big part of today was putting a whole game together, our offense, defense and transition. Even with some of the mistakes we made we were able to put together a full game in all three of those phases." Monmouth Head Coach Jordan Trautman
 
"We've been focusing on a draw unit and as the season has started we have been tweaking things but this was definitely what we have been working towards, to have a unit that works cohesively and dominantly. Today was evidence of what they have been working together." Trautman on dominating the draw circle
 
"She's so dangerous. She's definitely a player who draws a lot of attention so she needs to changer her skill set against different teams. I thought she did that today.  I think she just got back to being herself today and playing freely while having fun. She's a player who likes to have fun and a couple of those goals found the back of the net and she found her flow back on the field." Trautman on Turturro
 
"I think we came out strong today, we knew going into this game it was going to be a battle for 60 minutes. We won the first draw, we scored the first goal, we tried to keep that momentum going throughout the entire game. When we got down we didn't get too low we kept fighting and came out on top. It feels really good to get the win." Senior Nicole Ceraso
 
"Nicole is always moving the ball. She is constantly telling us to send cuts and have been working all week as a unit to keep it spread, all seven at all times." Senior Allison Turturro

• Ceraso assisted on four of Turturro's five goals on the afternoon
• Coming into the game, Monmouth ranked 8^th nationally in draw control percentage, winning 61%. Hart leads the team with 34 draws through six contests
• Bleck entered the game leading Monmouth in goals with 19 which was 18^th nationally. This is her third game scoring five or more goals and her sixth multi-goal game of the season
• The win was Monmouth's third win in the last six meetings with Rutgers

NUMBERS CRUNCH

• Monmouth outshot Rutgers 36-33, including 21-15 in the second half
• Rutgers won the turnover battle committing just 11 compared to 11 for Monmouth
• The Hawks were 5-of-9 in free position shots, recovering in the second half to go 4-for-4
• Rutgers was led by Cassidy Spilis and Samantha Budd who each scored three goals.
• Scarlet Knight goaltender Alonna Gliksman had 12 saves in net for the Scarlet Knights.
• Mills finished with an assist, nine draw controls, three ground balls and a two caused turnovers
• Senior Sarah Gillogly scored a pair of goals in the contest for the Blue & White

 
UP NEXT
Monmouth will start up a three-game road trip by heading north to face Holy Cross on Saturday. That game can be viewed on Stadium and is set for a 1 PM start.