Rutgers Drops 6-4 Decision to St. John's
Mar 31 | Men's Lacrosse
QUEENS, N.Y. - Despite two goals by senior Colin Checcio (Wayne, Pa.), the Rutgers men's lacrosse team (2-4, 1-2) lost a 6-4 decision to ECAC opponent St. John's (4-5, 1-2) at DaSilva Memorial Field on Saturday afternoon. The loss was the Scarlet Knights' second conference loss of the season and the first league win for St. John's.
St. John's out-shot Rutgers, 34-21, and finished with three fewer turnovers (17-14) than the Scarlet Knights. Freshman Justin Pennington (Flemington, N.J.) scoredone goal but his streak of multi-point games came to an end at five. Jeff Rommel (Syracuse, N.Y.) rounded-out the scoring with one goal and Checcio added in one assist to go along with his two goals. Freshman goalie Bill Olin (Horseheads, N.Y.) made his first career start and finished with eight saves against the Red Storm.
The Scarlet Knights got on the board first with a goal by Rommel midway through the first quarter. The Red Storm then scored four unanswered goals to take a 4-1 lead at the half. RU took just two shots in the first quarter and six in the second, while SJU took a combined 24 shots in the opening half.
Rutgers' offense came out firing to start the second half as Checcio netted two unanswered goals for the Scarlet Knights to bring them within one of the lead (4-3). The goals were his fifteenth and sixteenth of the season. Pennington's score with 42 seconds remaining in the third quarter tied the game at four.
St. John's then went on another offensive run to start the final quarter of play, scoring two goals within the first five minutes to take a 6-4 lead. Rutgers' offense continued to fire away, taking the final three shots of the game, including a shot by Pennington with 44 seconds remaining that went wide of the goal and St. John's held on for the win.
Pennington led the Scarlet Knights in shots with eight and finished with three ground balls. He went 1-of-2 from the face-off circle while Michael Hurwitz (Baltimore, Md.) went 5-of-9 from the circle for RU. The Scarlet Knights went 1-for-2 in man-up opportunities while St. John's was held without an extra-man opportunity.
The Red Storm was led in scoring by Tom and Trevor Michaelsen who each netted two goals. Tom Manes had a game-high three assists and goalie Dave Saccente made six saves against Rutgers.
The Scarlet Knights will return home to face Manhattan on Tuesday, April 3, at 7:00 p.m. at Yurcak Field.
Lacrosse Game Summary (Final)
2007 Rutgers Men's Lacrosse
Rutgers at St. John's (March 31 at Queens, N.Y.)
Rutgers (2-4, 1-2) at St. John's (4-5, 1-2)
Date: March 31, 2007 Attendance: 534
Goals by Period: 1 2 3 4 Tot
Rutgers 1 0 3 0 4
St. John's 1 2 1 2 6
