The Scarlet Knights (7-8-0, 4-5-0 BIG EAST) took on conference foe No. 8/11 Louisville, dropping a 2-0 result this past Saturday at Cardinal Park. The Scarlet Knights and Cardinals played a scoreless first half, however Louisville broke the deadlock in the second half with two goals en route to the victory. The first half was tightly contested with Louisville holding just a slight lead in shots, outshooting Rutgers 6-3. The Scarlet Knights, despite not tallying a goal, forced a pair of saves in the first period. Sophomores Nate Bourdeau (Baldwinsville, N.Y.) and Gaetano Panuccio (Mechanicsburg, Pa.) paced the Scarlet Knights, combining for RU’s two shots on goal. 

 

“I think one of the hardest things to do is to win on the road,” said head coach Bob Reasso. “In the first two minutes of the [Louisville] game, we had the chance for what should have been a penalty kick, which could have put us up 1-0. [Louisville hadn’t] given up a goal in the first half all year. That would have totally changed the game, because it makes them chase the game rather than us.

 

“Fortunately for us, we play at home these next two games. These are two huge games for us. We can still get into the BIG EAST Tournament through the back door if Cincinnati doesn’t get any points, but we want to play our way in. There is still a lot to play for, we can change who we play if we take care of business at home. We’re a much better team at home than on the road. Our record shows that. I think we are very confident still. We’re still fairly confident going into these last two games, which is important. The guys realize the magnitude of our situation.”

 

Rutgers is led in scoring byjunior Yanick Salmon (Westbury, NY) and sophomore Ibrahim Kamara (North Brunswick, N.J.) who each have 13 points with six goals and one assist on the year. Bourdeau is third on the team with six points on two goals and two assists.

 

Sophomore Bryant Knibbs (Pine Bush, N.Y.) has the team-lead with four assists, followed by sophomores David MacVane (Saratoga Springs, N.Y.) and Nye Winslow (Piscataway, N.J.) with two each.  In goal for the Scarlet Knights is sophomore Alex Morgans (Jackson, N.J.) who has started the past six matches, posting back-to-back wins (2-4-0) with one shutout on the year.

 

“We’re playing one of the most competitive and toughest schedules in the country,” said Reasso. “I think playing all those big games early on, makes you better in these last two games. If we can play our way into the BIG EAST Tournament, there is nothing we haven’t seen. We’ve been away on big grounds and we’ve played big teams at home. We’ve won big games, lost close in big games and seen some misfortune, but I think our guys have seen everything they could possibly see.

 

“As far as we’re concerned, we’re in postseason right now. You can look at these last two games as postseason games and that’s how we’re going to treat them. We need to come out hard and we need to win. I’m very confident, I believe in these guys and I believe they can win.”

 

In its most recent match, Villanova took on BIG EAST opponent USF (11-2-2 overall, 5-2-2 BIG EAST). The Wildcats lost 3-1 to the Bulls in a critical BIG EAST Red Division match. Villanova took the lead when senior Mike Seamon, scored his fifth goal of the season.  Seamon received a red card at the 60th minute, leaving the Wildcats one man short.  The red card also means that Seamon will not be in uniform to play against the Scarlet Knights.

 

Seamon leads the Wildcats with 17 points on five goals and seven assists. Kyle Soroka is right behind him with 12 points on five goals and two assists.  

 

Rutgers and Villanova have met 16 times in program history with the Scarlet Knights holding an 8-6-2 lead in the all-time series. However, Villanova has won the previous three matchups.