Goals galore: Rutgers women's lacrosse blows by Manhattan in season opener
The Rutgers women's lacrosse team defeated Manhattan 20-10 in its season opener on Saturday. The Scarlet Knights (1-0, 0-0) dominated the first quarter and ultimately earned a decisive victory.
Rutgers opened the contest with an early goal from junior midfielder and attacker Victoria Goldrick. Graduate student midfielder Cassidy Spilis assisted the goal.
Spilis found the back of the net 17 seconds later, scoring her 1st goal of the 2024 campaign. Goldrick got on the board again, resulting in a 3-0 lead after approximately 4 minutes of play.
The Knights would score 3 more goals thanks to sophomore attacker Ava Kane and Spilis before the Jaspers (0-1, 0-0) scored their 1st goal of the afternoon.
Rutgers responded to Manhattan's goal with some more high-powered offense, as senior attacker Kate Carolonza and sophomore midfielder and defender Kimberly Greenblatt scored to give the Knights an 8-1 lead after the first quarter.
The Jaspers scored 2 goals to begin the second quarter. Spilis would net her 4th goal of the game, and Manhattan would respond with back-to-back goals.
Kane concluded the second quarter with her 2nd goal, putting Rutgers up 10-5 at halftime.
The Knights would continue to find offensive success at the start of the third quarter. Spilis, senior midfielder Ashley Moynahan, junior midfielder Alexa Corbin and freshman midfielder Payton Tini all scored within the first 5 minutes of the half for Rutgers. Shortly after, the Jaspers would find the back of the net twice to make the score 14-7 heading into the final quarter.
The Knights would seal the season-opening win in the fourth quarter, scoring another 6 goals.
Greenblatt, Carolonza, junior midfielder Emalie Clothier, freshman midfielder Reese Robinson and senior attacker Nicole DiLullo tallied goals in the final quarter, leading to the most goals in a season opener since 2019 for Rutgers.
Overall, Spilis had a team-leading 7 points off 6 goals and one assist. On defense, graduate student defender Jessica Beneducci caused three turnovers.
Senior goalkeeper Sophia Cardello played for approximately 52 minutes and concluded the game with five saves. Freshman goalkeeper Sophia Rowell made her first collegiate appearance and recorded one save between the posts.
After starting the season on the front foot, the Knights will look to continue their success on Saturday against Georgetown. Faceoff is scheduled for 1 p.m. in Washington, D.C.
"I was really excited how strong we started. That was definitely a key for us," said head coach Melissa Lehman. "We wasted no time getting on the board ... It was a great team effort today."
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