PISCATAWAY, N.J. (April 18, 2009) – The Rutgers women's lacrosse team, which had won three straight games, dropped a 15-6 decision to No. 8 Syracuse Saturday afternoon under sunny skies at Yurcak Field. Junior Brooke Cantwell (Moorestown, N.J.) scored two goals and added an assist to pace the Scarlet Knights, who drop to 7-9 (3-4 BIG EAST) with the loss.

The game was the final contest of the season for Rutgers, which was eliminated from BIG EAST Championship contention with the loss. Eight Scarlet Knight seniors were honored in pregame ceremonies. The 2009 senior class ends their careers with 33 wins and two BIG EAST Championship appearances.

RU jumped out to a 1-0 lead courtesy of a Nina Frankoski (Maplewood, N.J.) goal, via a Kristen Anderson (Wading River, N.Y.) assist with 28:53 on the first half clock. Unfortunately, the strike would be answered in definitive fashion by the Orange. The visitors scored five consecutive goals to take a 5-1 lead.

The Scarlet Knights battled back, however, reducing their deficit to a lone goal (5-4), after Cantwell found the back of the net twice and assisted hometown teammate Annie McGinley (Moorestown, N.J.) on another goal. Syracuse (12-3, 6-1) scored two additional goals prior to the break to take a 7-4 lead into the intermission.

After the half, the Orange extended their advantage to 12-5, before Michelle Poole (Long Valley, N.J.) tallied an unassisted goal which would be the home squad's final score of the afternoon.

Christina Dove posted five goals and had an assist to lead Syracuse, which out-shot RU by a 35-22 margin. Sandra Abel (Monrovia, Md.) made 13 saves for Rutgers.

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PISCATAWAY, N.J. – Junior Christina Dove (Bel Air, Md.) scored five goals and senior Katie Rowan (Delmar, N.Y.) dished out six assists as eighth-ranked Syracuse women's lacrosse team defeated Rutgers, 15-6, in Piscataway, N.J. on Saturday, April 18. With the win, the Orange claims a share of the BIG EAST regular-season title.

Syracuse improves to 12-3 overall and 6-1 in BIG EAST play. The six league victories are a program single-season best. The Orange and Georgetown end the season tied for the top spot. Syracuse shared the 2007 regular-season title before winning its first outright championship last season.

"We're excited," said fifth-year senior and team co-captain Bridget Looney. "It was a hard-fought BIG EAST season. We know we can improve on how we've played so far."

With her performance, Rowan moved into third place on the NCAA Division I career assists list, moving past Johns Hopkins' Mary Key (2004-07) with 151 assists in 71 games. Her seven points against the Scarlet Knights give her 368 in her career, which rank seventh on the all-time scoring list.

After Rutgers took an early lead, Dove scored her first goal of the day on an assist from Rowan, which sparked the Orange on a 5-0 scoring run. Senior Awehiyo Thomas (Six Nations, Ontario) scored twice during the run, including one on a behind-the-back shot in traffic in front of the cage.

Senior Megan Mosenson (Malvern, Pa.) and sophomore Tee Ladouceur (Slingerlands, N.Y.) also found the back of the net during the run as Syracuse took a 5-1 lead with 13:14 remaining. The Scarlet Knights responded with three straight goals to cut the lead to one, before Dove scored twice in the final three minutes to give the Orange a 7-4 halftime advantage.

Rutgers struck first in the second half, scoring just 48 seconds in to cut the lead to 7-5. That was close as the Scarlet Knights would get as Syracuse controlled the rest of the game, outscoring Rutgers, 8-1 in the final 25:13 of the contest. Dove and Rowan converted free position attempts before Thomas netted her third goal of the game. Mosenson found the back of the net for the second time, and Dove registered another free position goal to give the Orange a 12-5 lead with 9:42 remaining. Following a Rutgers goal, Ladouceur scored twice, both on assists from Rowan, and then found junior Jackie DePetris (Radnor, Pa.), who scored her first goal of the day to give Syracuse the 15-6 victory.

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2009-04-18