Following a dominant 19-9 performance on March 30 at Ryan Fieldhouse, the No. 2 Wildcats (12-1, 4-0 Big Ten) headed to Piscataway, New Jersey to battle conference foe Rutgers for its annual matchup. 

NU was predicted to offensively dominate the matchup courtesy of graduate student attacker Izzy Scane, senior attacker Erin Coykendall, graduate student Hailey Rhatigan and freshman midfielder Madison Taylor. And yet, the battle was highly contested from the get-go with the Scarlet Knights’ offense responding to every goal the Cats placed in the back of the net.

However, the Scane Train believed it could and left Piscataway with a 16-6 win Thursday.

Although the majority of the first quarter remained competitive, NU pulled away late and seized a three point lead which, unfortunately for Rutgers, could never bounce back from. Scane and Coykendall heavily facilitated the offensive scheme in the second quarter to close out the first half in favor of the Cats 5-2.

By the end of the match, the Cats out shot the Scarlet Knights 24-15, while five different NU players tallied goals in the squad’s road victory. Rhatigan led the matchup with five goals to lift the Cats over Rutgers effortlessly.

With Thursday’s win, NU  currently sits at the top of the Big Ten conference, and as the regular season dwindles down every game counts. 

Here are three takeaways from the Scarlet Knights’ contest.

Takeaways

1. Rhatigan and Scane were the dynamic duo of the night 

With Scane already establishing herself as arguably the best attacker in NCAA Division I Lacrosse, the Wildcats’ addition of Rhatigan has proved mightily beneficial. The duo was the program’s leading scorers of the night and played off each other with ease. 

After the graduation of Lauren Gilbert, many wondered who would be the right hand woman to Scane on the high attack. Rhatigan has been just that, giving Scane the area to hit her high-powered shots while gliding through defensive units to score her own goals.

Combining for eight of NU’s 15 points Thursday, it is evident these two players will be the go-to scorers for the Cats for the remainder of this season. 

2. Rutgers offense proved ineffective 

The Cats defensive unit held its own in SHI Stadium despite letting in a couple of early goals Thursday. Overall, the backbone of the team limited Rutgers to only six goals — the same amount of goals NU scored last year against the Scarlet Knights in the Big Ten semifinals.

Forcing 19 turnovers, the Cats defensive unit has stepped up tremendously throughout the 2023 campaign. Even though Rutgers scored 6 goals, the mere fact NU’s opponents only got into double digits shows graduate student goalkeeper Molly Laliberty’s squad is silencing offenses. 

With the help of critical players like junior defender Kendall Halpern and sophomore midfielder/defender Samantha White leading the pack, the Cats’ defensive game has proven  to be a true problem for opposing competition.

3. The Wildcats continue their road tour at Albany

NU will continue their road tour this weekend in Upstate New York facing the University of Albany. 

After a dominant performance over Rutgers, there is not much coach Kelly Amonte Hiller’s squad can’t do.

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