Rutgers Women’s Lacrosse Takes Down Princeton 12-11 in the First Round of the NCAA Tournament

The Rutgers Scarlet Knights huddle during an NCAA women's lacrosse game at SHI Stadium in Piscataway, United States, on April 9, 2026. (Photo by Dan Squicciarini/NurPhoto via Getty Images) | NurPhoto via Getty Images

Rutgers women’s lacrosse is moving on after taking down Princeton 12-11 in the first round of the NCAA tournament, which is being hosted at SECU Stadium in Maryland. The Tigers defeated the Scarlet Knights 15-9 in regular-season play, with Rutgers getting its revenge by knocking Princeton out of the national tournament.

The Knights put the Tigers in a hole early, taking an 8-4 lead by the end of the first half. They dominated the draw controls early on, winning 9 out of 13. However, after falling behind by five points in the third quarter, Princeton would rally back late in the second half, outscoring Rutgers 7-4 in the latter half as a whole. However, their impressive comeback effort came up just short as the Knights’ defense held on to secure the one-point victory. In the closing moments of the game, Princeton was on the attack with time left for only one possession, but Rutgers’ Lily Dixon would deny them the opportunity by stealing the ball and sealing the game for Rutgers.

Rutgers continued to win the draw controls in the second half, holding a 7-5 draw control advantage over their opponent in the final two quarters of play.

Hilary Elsner and Caroline Ling were the offensive engine for the team in their win, as Elsner had four goals while Ling had 3. Delainey Sutley and Payton Tini also contributed two goals each, while Kate Theofield added one more.

With the win, Rutgers will now move on to play the hosts, the No. 5-seeded Maryland Terrapins, on Sunday, May 10th, at Noon.