No. 8 Rutgers men's lacrosse loses close contest against Army
The Rutgers men’s lacrosse team suffered its first loss of the season yesterday in a tight 14-13 contest versus Army. The No. 8 Scarlet Knights (2-1, 0-0) hung tight for the entire game, but ultimately, the Black Knights (1-1, 0-0) were able to get the edge in the final minutes.
Though Rutgers came into the game as the favorite due to Army’s unranked status, a close matchup was expected. There were four lead changes and five ties throughout the game, and the contest came down to a single goal from the Black Knights in the final 4 minutes of play.
The Knights got off to an early lead when senior midfielder David Sprock found the back of the net with an assist from senior attacker Ross Scott. The captain-to-captain connection occurred within the very first minute of play, but Army responded promptly.
The Black Knights scored the next 4 goals with Reese Burek scoring 3 of them. Rutgers found itself with its back against the wall at the end of the first period until a goal from sophomore attacker Dante Kulas cut the deficit between the teams to 2 goals. Army would take a 4-2 lead into the second period.
The Knights started the next period by scoring 4 goals in just the first 6 minutes of the period to retake the lead. Junior midfielder Jack Aimone scored 2 goals, and Scott added another 2 goals in the 4-goal run.
The lead was short lived, though, as the Black Knights responded with a 4-0 run of their own. Burek scored another 2 goals in the run, giving him 5 goals at halftime. Army led 9-6 heading into the half.
The third period saw just 3 combined goals from both teams. The Black Knights struck first before Rutgers finally got back on the board with less than 2 minutes left in the period. The goal from senior attacker Brian Cameron ended an approximately 23-minute-long scoring drought, after which Scott scored once again with 6 seconds left in the third period. The last-minute goals cut the Knights' deficit to 10-8 heading into the final period of play.
The teams went back and forth to begin the fourth period until Rutgers rallied for a 3-0 scoring run to tie the game 12-12. Senior midfielder Noah Daniels, Scott and Cameron all chipped in with a goal during the scoring run. Just 6 seconds after the Knights tied the game, Army regained the lead with a goal from Will Coletti.
With nearly 5:34 left to play, Scott willed his way to yet another goal, equalizing the score once again to 13-13. Rutgers would not be able to complete the comeback, as the Black Knights would break the tie with 3:54 left to play after a goal from Paul Johnson. The goal wound up being the last of the game, and Army completed the upset victory.
Scott finished with 5 goals and an assist, while Cameron chipped in with his third consecutive hat trick. Senior goalkeeper Kyle Mullin recorded 11 saves.
The Black Knights had 25 shots on goal to the Knights' 24, and each team saved 11 shots.
Rutgers will look to get back in the win column on Saturday when the team returns to SHI Stadium on Busch campus to play No. 11 Loyola University Maryland. The game will start at 1 p.m. and will be broadcasted on Big Ten Network+.
For more updates on the Rutgers men's lacrosse team, follow @TargumSports on Twitter.
