No. 9 Rutgers men's lacrosse hosts Marist after opening game victory
After a 15-6 win over LIU in its season opener last Sunday, the Rutgers men’s lacrosse team will return to the field on a short turnaround when the team hosts Marist in non-conference play at SHI Stadium on Busch campus this afternoon.
The Scarlet Knights (1-0, 0-0) improved to No. 9 in the USILA national poll on the heels of the win over the Sharks (0-1, 0-0). The win saw a prolific offensive output from Rutgers’ offseason, with 7 of the Knights’ 15 goals coming from new transfers. Senior attacker Mitch Bartolo led the way with 5 goals, with fellow senior attacker Ronan Jacoby tacking on 2 goals of his own in the win.
With its first win of the season in the rearview mirror, Rutgers now has to contend with a Red Fox (0-0, 0-0) team that was picked to finish second in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) this season.
Marist is coming off a season that saw the team take the field only four times due to coronavirus disease (COVID-19) issues. The program has two players receiving preseason awards: Jamison Embury and JT Roselle were named to the Preseason All-MAAC Team.
The Knights are also off to a strong start defensively, with their 6 goals allowed leading the country in scoring defense. Rutgers also led the nation with 13 caused turnovers in the opening game. Statistically, senior defender Bobby Russo had five ground balls and two caused turnovers in the LIU game.
Returning senior goalkeeper Colin Kirst allowed just 6 goals, his second-lowest allowed on the Banks after allowing just 5 goals against Lehigh in the NCAA Tournament last May.
From a faceoff perspective, the Knights split the faceoff duties between incoming senior faceoff specialist Sam Stephan and junior faceoff specialist Jonathan Dugenio, who started in 2021. Stephan fared better in the opener, winning 8 of his 12 draws, while Dugenio won just 4 of 11.
A win for Rutgers would cement a 2-0 start to the season — which would mark the seventh straight year where the program opened with back-to-back wins. After this week, the Knights will close in on the first difficult stretch of their non-conference schedule.
After heading up to St. John’s on Saturday, Rutgers will welcome its long-time rivals, No. 13 Army, to Piscataway the following week. The team then will have to face another ranked opponent, No. 9 Loyola, in Baltimore.
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