Rutgers Defeats Monmouth, 14-9, for Fourth Straight Win
Apr 09 | Women's Lacrosse
PISCATAWAY, N.J. - The Rutgers women's lacrosse team won its season-high fourth consecutive game, defeating in-state rival Monmouth 14-9 Wednesday night at Yurcak Field in Piscataway, N.J. RU (7-6) moved to a game over .500 for the first time this season, while Monmouth (9-4) lost for the first time in six games.
Rutgers built a 6-0 lead on two goals apiece from sophomores Brooke Cantwell (Moorestown, N.J.) and Mary Cryan (Newtown Square, Pa.), as well as junior Michelle Poole (Long Valley, N.J.). Sixteen seconds in to the game, after a scramble for a loose ball in front of the Monmouth net, Poole used her stick to knock it in, giving RU the 1-0 lead. Freshman Kristen Anderson (Wading River, N.Y.) and junior Nina Frankoski (Maplewood, N.J.) also showed off their scoring touch in the first half as RU went into the break with an 8-2 lead.
But in the second half the Hawks battled back, scoring three of the first four goals to cut the lead to 9-5. After freshman Jennifer Schmitt (Perry Hall, Md.) tallied her seventh goal of the season, Monmouth again scored three of the next four goals to come within three, at 11-8. But Cantwell and freshman Marley Welsh (Jarretsville, Md.) provided the final scoring for the Scarlet Knights, giving the home team the 14-9 win.
Cantwell finished with five goals, one away from her career-high of six, set in RU's 10-9 overtime win over Denver on March 28. Junior goalie Sandra Abel (Monrovia, Md.) recorded 14 saves, the ninth time this season she has stopped 10 or more shots.
RU has won four consecutive games for the first time since last season, when the team won five straight games between March 26, 2007, and April 10, 2007. Monmouth came into tonight's game on a five-game winning streak, averaging 15.6 goals per game in that stretch. The Scarlet Knights have held their last five opponents to single-digit scoring. In the last seven games, RU's opponents have scored 8.0 goals per game after averaging 13.2 goals per game in the first six games of the season.
The Scarlet Knights will return to BIG EAST action on Saturday, April 12, when they take on No. 5 Syracuse at 11:00 a.m.
