Rutgers Women's Lacrosse Falls in Regular Season Finale
Apr 20 | Women's Lacrosse
PISCATAWAY, N.J. - The Rutgers women's lacrosse team dropped its season finale, falling 20-9 to BIG EAST foe Notre Dame Sunday afternoon at Yurcak Field. RU (7-9, 2-3) will be the fourth seed in the BIG EAST Championship and will take on top seed Syracuse, while Notre Dame (11-5, 4-1), clinched the second seed and will face Georgetown. The BIG EAST Championship first round will take place on Friday, April 25, at Notre Dame Stadium in South Bend, Ind.
The Irish got onto the scoreboard first, scoring 10 of the game's first 11 goals, with the lone RU score coming from Nina Frankoski (Maplewood, N.J.) on a pass from Michelle Poole (Long Valley, N.J.). Trailing by nine, the Scarlet Knights scored two consecutive goals, the first on a free-position shot by Poole, the second from freshman Marley Welsh (Jarretsville, Md.) on an assist by Meghan Flanagan (Medford, N.J.). After ND's Jillian Byers scored her third goal of the game, Mary Cryan (Newtown Square, Pa.) and Brooke Cantwell (Moorestown, N.J.) each found the back of the net to bring the home team to within six at the half.
But Notre Dame started fast in the second half, scoring five consecutive goals to put the game away. Frankoski, Poole, Kaja Stamnes (Maplewood, N.J.) and Jennifer Schmitt (Perry Hall, Md.) all tallied goals in the second period, but ND pulled away to win by 11. Byers finished with five goals, while Caitlin McKinney recorded a hat trick for the Irish. Frankoski and Poole each tallied two apiece to lead the Scarlet Knights. RU hurt itself in the first half, turning the ball over 11 times, but did much better in the second half with only four turnovers.
Prior to the game, Rutgers held a special Senior Day ceremony to honor the team's lone senior Jessica Fox (Marlton, N.J.), for her contributions to Rutgers and the women's lacrosse team.
RU returns to action on Friday, April 25, in the BIG EAST Championship against top seed Syracuse. The winner of that game will face the victor between Notre Dame and Georgetown in the BIG EAST Championship final on Sunday, April 27.
