Rutgers University
Johns Hopkins
No. 21 Women’s Lacrosse Opens Big Ten Tournament Wednesday with No. 5 Johns Hopkins
Apr 20 | Women's Lacrosse
PISCATAWAY, N.J. – No. 6 seed Rutgers women's lacrosse (10-7) begins postseason play against No. 3 seed Johns Hopkins (13-3) in the quarterfinals of the Big Ten Tournament, held Wednesday at U-M Lacrosse Stadium in Ann Arbor, Michigan. First draw is set for 6 p.m. and will stream on Big Ten Plus.
Wednesday night's winner will face the winner of No. 2 seed Maryland versus No. 7 seed Ohio State in the Big Ten semifinal, held Friday at 6 p.m. The Scarlet Knights look to advance to the conference semifinals for the third time in four seasons under Head Coach Melissa Lehman.
RU enters the postseason with its most regular-season (10) and conference (4) victories since 2022, when it advanced to the NCAA Tournament for just the third time in program history. Rutgers owns the NCAA's sixth-toughest schedule, a No. 16 RPI and five wins against the RPI top 40 (No. 7 Michigan, No. 28 Villanova, No. 33 Delaware, No. 34 Ohio State and No. 37 Hofstra).
| Last Time Out |
• Rutgers lost to then-No. 19 Penn State, 18-15, on Sunday at SHI Stadium. Sophomore Delainey Sutley scored a team-high five goals to pace Rutgers' offense, while senior Lily Dixon tallied five points on three assists and two goals. Dixon, junior Alex Popham, sophomore Hilary Elsner and rookie Kate Theofield all tallied multiple scores against the Nittany Lions.
• Rookie Ellie Racki earned her first career start and notched six saves in the loss. Senior Katie Buck and sophomore Charlee Thomas produced seven and six draw controls, respectively. Sophomore Maddie Miceli caused a team-high three turnovers.
| Building Its Resume |
• Rutgers possesses the sixth-hardest schedule in the NCAA, with its opponents owning a combined .660 winning percentage. The Scarlet Knights are No. 16 in the latest RPI released on Sunday and are ranked No. 21 in this week's IWLCA Coaches Poll.
• RU has faced five programs – No. 1 Maryland, No. 2 Northwestern, No. 6 Johns Hopkins, No. 7 Stony Brook and No. 8 Michigan – who appeared in last week's NCAA Division I Women's Lacrosse Championship Subcommittee top 10.
• Nine of the Scarlet Knights' 17 games during the regular season came against programs who appeared in the IWLCA Coaches Poll this season and eight featured in this week's rankings – No. 2 Northwestern, No. 4 Maryland, No. 5 Johns Hopkins, No. 8 Michigan, No. 13 Stony Brook, No. 14 Army, No. 18 Penn State, and No. 22 Princeton.
| #SCTop10 Regulars |
• Rutgers has appeared on SportsCenter's Top 10 Plays four times this spring thanks to highlight goals from sophomore Delainey Sutley and freshman Kate Theofield.
- Delainey Sutley vs. Monmouth
- Kate Theofield at No. 14 Princeton
- Kate Theofield vs. Hofstra
- Kate Theofield vs. No. 8 Johns Hopkins
| Ling Midseason All-American |
• Sophomore Caroline Ling is putting together an All-American caliber season in 2026. The Springboro, Ohio, native is second in the Big Ten and sixth nationally with 84 points this season on a team-high 54 goals and 30 assists.
• Already a Nike Lacrosse Midseason Media All-American, Ling has netted three or more goals 11 times this spring. Her 4.94 points per game are 14th in the NCAA, while her 3.18 goals per game are fourth in the Big Ten.
• Ling's 84 points are also the second most in a single season in program history. She needs seven points to surpass current assistant coach Taralyn Naslonski (90 – 2022) for the program single-season record.
| Buck Shines on the Draw |
• Katie Buck continues to set the program standard on the draw. Her 159 draw controls are a school single-season record, surpassing the 141 from Linda Larson in 1981. Buck's 16 in the 21-7 victory over Oregon on April 12 reset her single-game program record for the third time this season and marked her seventh double-digit draw control game of 2026. Buck is second in the Big Ten and 11th nationally with 9.06 draw controls per game.
| Dixon the Facilitator |
• Senior Lily Dixon set the program single-season assist record in the 13-12 win over No. 6 Michigan on April 9 and is up to 47 assists this season. Dixon became the first student-athlete in program history to break 100 career assists earlier this season.
• Dixon is second in the Big Ten and ninth nationally with 47 assists, while her 2.76 assists per game rank 12th in the country. Dixon has also set a personal record for points in a season with 55.
| Theofield Rookie Success |
• Rookie Kate Theofield has been one of the best first-year scorers in the NCAA. The Smithtown, New York, native is third nationally amongst freshmen and first in the Big Ten with 42 goals this season.
| Youth Movement |
• Underclassmen have accounted for 78 percent of the team's goals (181/228) and 68 percent of the team's points (254/371) this spring. RU's top four goal scorers – Caroline Ling (54), Kate Theofield (42), Hilary Elsner (28) and Delainey Sutley (23) – are all sophomores or younger.
| About Johns Hopkins |
• The Blue Jays enter the Big Ten Tournament with a 13-3 record, ending the regular season with back-to-back ranked wins over No. 6 Michigan and No. 19 Penn State. JHU moved up to No. 5 in this week's IWLCA Coaches Poll.
• Johns Hopkins features one of the top offenses in the country, ranking top 15 nationally with assists per game (third, 8.94), points per game (sixth, 23.63) and scoring offense (13th, 14.69). The Blue Jays also rank second in the country in ground balls per game (20.50) and third in caused turnovers per game (13.88).
• Regan O'Brien leads the country with 4.79 caused turnovers per game and fifth with 3.64 ground balls per game.
• Ava Angello is the team's leading goal scorer with 56 this season, good for seventh nationally. Lacey Downey is third in the Big Ten with a team-high 80 points.
• Rutgers is 3-10 all-time against Johns Hopkins, which includes this year's tight 15-12 loss to the Blue Jays on March 15 at SHI Stadium.
• RU's last win over the Blue Jays took place in the quarterfinals of the 2023 Big Ten Tournament, a 15-14 win in Baltimore.
