Women's lacrosse tops Rutgers in Big East opener

The No. 16 Syracuse University women’s lacrosse team snapped a two-game losing streak Saturday with an 11-7 victory against No. 18 Rutgers on the Scarlet Knights' home field.

The Orange started off strong thanks to freshman Katie Webster’s early goal. The Scarlet Knights then took an early lead, 2-1, thanks to back-to-back goals by Ali Steinber — two of three she scored on the day.

The Orange regained the lead after 3-0 run sparked by the first of Catherine Rodriguez’s three goals. Michelle Tumolo and Amy Cross capped the run for the Orange with a goal each. Following the run, Rutgers' Lindsay Watts broke the SU scoring run, but the Orange offense was too much as SU took an 8-4 lead into the half. Sarah Holden, Alyssa Murray and Tee Ladouceur all scored goals for the Orange as well.

Syracuse started the second half strong thanks to two goals scored by Rodriguez within the first eight minutes. However, Steinber completed her hat trick at the 22-minute mark, and Kristen Anderson scored two goals at the 11:44 mark and at the 7-minute mark, bringing the Orange lead down to three. That was as close as the Scarlet Knights would get though, as Murray scored the final goal with 2:49 to go.

The win brought the Orange’s record to 3-5 overall and gives SU its fourth straight win in Big East openers. The win also gives the Orange their 13th win against the Scarlet Knights, bringing SU’s record against Rutgers to 13-3.

Tumolo recorded her team-leading 13th assist in the first half, and leads the team with 27 points this season after a game-high five points Saturday. Senior goalkeeper Liz Hogan recorded seven saves for the Orange, and played the entire game.

Steinber’s four points led the Scarlet Knights, but the rest of the team only recorded five points combined. The shot distribution favored the Orange, but only by one, as Syracuse recorded 22 shots and Rutgers 21. The Scarlet Knights did lose the turnover battle, as they recorded 11 turnovers to the Orange’s eight.

Ladouceur also continued chasing history, as she is now seven points shy of tying Monica Joines for sixth on the all-time SU scoring list after recording two points against Rutgers.

The Orange will conclude their six-game road trip against Dartmouth University on April 4, at 7 p.m., in Lebanon, N.H.