PISCATAWAY, N.J. (March 2, 2008) – The Rutgers women's lacrosse team dropped its third straight game, falling to Cornell 10-6 at the RU Turf Field on Sunday afternoon. The Scarlet Knights (0-3) led 5-3 in the second half before CU (2-0) scored seven of the next eight goals to win by four.

"We made a lot of critical mistakes," said head coach Laura Brand. "Give Cornell credit, they capitalized on our errors. We are a young team, but we need to play more consistent."

Junior Michelle Poole (Long Valley, N.J.) scored the first two goals of the game to give RU an early 2-0 lead. The second score was assisted by Brooke Cantwell (Moorestown, N.J.), and for Rutgers' third tally Poole returned the favor, setting up Cantwell's second goal of the season. Trailing by three, CU mounted a comeback, scoring three consecutive goals of its own to tie the game. But Poole answered back in the eighth minute, picking up the hat trick and giving RU a 4-3 halftime lead.

"Michelle played very well for us today," said Brand. "We needed her to step up and she did. I expect her to continue to play at a high level."

The second half began as the first did, with another Rutgers goal, this time from Mary Cryan (Newtown Square, Pa.). But Cornell's Noelle Dowd found her offensive groove and scored three consecutive goals to give the Big Red a 6-5 lead. The Scarlet Knights tied the game when Mallory Tornetta (Frazer, Pa.) found the back of the net for her first goal of the season, but Cornell finished the game with four consecutive scores to win 10-6. Rutgers turned the ball over 22 times in the game, including nine in the second half. Junior goalie Sandra Abel (Monrovia, Md.) recorded 13 saves in the loss.

Rutgers returns to action on Wednesday, March 5, at 7:00 p.m. when it faces its second consecutive Ivy League opponent, the No. 7 ranked Princeton Tigers in Princeton, N.J.

Score by Period       1  2  Tot
-------------------------------
COR.................  3  7 - 10
Rutgers.............  4  2 -  6
 
Attendance: 500
 
COR SCORING:
GOALS: DOWD, Noelle 4; FARRELL, Courtney 3; SIMMONS, Katherine 1;
       SCHMIDLAPP, Charlott 1; O'CONNOR, Tissy 1.
ASSISTS: FARRELL, Courtney 3; DEWEY, Kathryn 1; SIMMONS, Katherine 1.
 
Rutgers SCORING:
GOALS: POOLE, Michelle 3; CANTWELL, Brooke 1; TORNETTA, Mallory 1;
       CRYAN, Mary 1.
ASSISTS: POOLE, Michelle 2; CANTWELL, Brooke 1; FLANAGAN, Meghan 1;
         TORNETTA; Mallory 1.
 
SHOTS BY PERIOD       1  2  Tot
-------------------------------
COR................. 16 17 - 33
Rutgers.............  8  7 - 15
 
GROUND BALLS BY PRD   1  2  Tot
-------------------------------
COR.................  3  3 -  6
Rutgers.............  4  4 -  8
 
DRAW CONTROLS BY PRD  1  2  Tot
-------------------------------
COR.................  4  6 - 10
Rutgers.............  4  4 -  8
 
CLEARS BY PERIOD       1     2     Total
----------------------------------------
COR.................  6-6   5-5  - 11-11
Rutgers.............  6-7   5-5  - 11-12
 
FREE-POSITION SHOTS    1     2     Total
----------------------------------------
COR.................  0-1   1-3  -  1-4
Rutgers.............  0-1   0-0  -  0-1
 
SAVES BY PERIOD       1  2  Tot
-------------------------------
COR.................  1  2 -  3
Rutgers.............  6  7 - 13
 
FOULS BY PERIOD       1  2  Tot
-------------------------------
COR.................  6  3 -  9
Rutgers.............  6  8 - 14
 
TURNOVERS BY PRD      1  2  Tot
-------------------------------
COR.................  5  5 - 10
Rutgers............. 13  9 - 22

2008-03-02