No. 16 Rutgers men's lacrosse looks to start winning streak against Hofstra
The Rutgers men's lacrosse team will return to the Banks for a home contest with Hofstra on Saturday at SHI Stadium on Busch campus. The Scarlet Knights (3-1, 0-0) are coming off a strong 13-5 road win against Loyola Maryland.
In that win, No. 16 Rutgers was able to keep the Greyhounds (2-3, 0-0) scoreless for more than 18 minutes and, ultimately, bounce back from its poor 16-7 home loss to Army.
"It was just a great team effort," said head coach Brian Brecht on the win. "Really, credit goes to the players for really being balanced throughout the week, preparing well, being focused and then, executing on game day."
The Pride (3-2, 0-0) had a poor 2023 season, finishing with a 5-9 overall record and failing to make the Coastal Athletic Association Championship. Hofstra has had a much-improved start to this season but has struggled to remain consistent.
Overall, the Knights are 17-15 against the Pride and have won the last two contests, with the most recent being a dominant 22-10 road victory in 2022. Senior midfielder Shane Knobloch and graduate student attacker Ross Scott both scored 2 goals and junior attacker Dante Kulas netted 1 goal in that game. Scott also provided three assists.
John Madsen has started the 2024 season on a tear for Hofstra, scoring 19 goals in five games, which is the second-most in the country. Rory Jones, Colton Rudd, Griffin Turner and Justin Sykes are other offensive threats that Rutgers must look out for.
The Knights' new defensive trio of junior defenders Ben McKelvy and Tommy Mendyke and sophomore defender Conor Udovich improved against Loyola, but they will have another tough task at hand this weekend.
"I think the more time they spend together in drills, in practice, in the film room," Brecht said as to how the trio has gelled together. "They're getting more comfortable together, and that's what time does."
Redshirt freshman goalkeeper Cardin Stoller is another first-time starter for Rutgers this season. Stoller recorded a career-high 15 saves and had a 75 percent save percentage, the highest from a Knight goalkeeper since 2022. Stoller was also named Big Ten Freshman of the Week for the second time this season.
The battle on the faceoff will be difficult for Rutgers. Chase Patterson has won 62.8 percent of his faceoffs and averages 10.20 ground balls per game, the third-most in the nation. Graduate student faceoff Cole Brams has his work cut out for him against Patterson.
Saturday's contest will begin at 1 p.m. and will be broadcast on Big Ten Plus and 88.7 WRSU-FM.
"We're still a work in progress, we got a lot of growth left in us if we want to challenge and be where we wanna be in Big Ten play, but I do think we are taking the steps in the right direction," Brecht said. "I'm very happy with the development and growth of all the guys offensively and defensively."
For more updates on the Rutgers men's lacrosse team, follow @TargumSports on X.
To view more of Matthew Mangam's work, follow @matthewmangam on X.
