Scarlet Knights Welcome Penn State for Conference Match-Up
Apr 20 | Men's Lacrosse
PISCATAWAY, N.J. - The Rutgers men's lacrosse team (4-5, 2-2) will host ECAC opponent Penn State (4-6, 3-2) on Sunday, April 22, at 12:00 p.m. A win against the Nittany Lions would even RU's overall record at 5-5 and give the team a winning mark in conference play at 3-2. The Scarlet Knights are coming off a 22-9 loss at No. 17/18 Syracuse on April 15.
Rutgers out-shot the Orange, 48-45, including a season-high 17 fourth-quarter shots. Three Scarlet Knights scored multiple goals, and freshman Justin Pennington (Flemington, N.J.) had two assists in the game to extend his streak of games with at least one point to nine. Jeff Rommel (Syracuse, N.Y.), Mike Dugan (Summit, N.J.) and Chris Doctor (Skaneateles, N.Y.) were the other Scarlet Knights to net multiple goals.
All three RU goalies saw playing time against Syracuse. Bill Olin (Horseheads, N.Y.) got the start in goal and finished with four saves before being replaced by Peter Pantages (Roseland, N.J.) after SU scored its eleventh goal. Lyle Farrar (Lexington, Va.) played the final quarter for the Scarlet Knights.
Colin Checcio (Wayne, Pa.) leads the team in goals this season with 22 and has a team-high 25 points (22 g, 5 a). Pennington's 14 scores are second-best on the team and he leads RU with 36 groundballs. Pantages has played in six of RU's game this season, with Olin and Farrar both seeing playing time in five games. Olin has a team-high 5 saves while Farrar has 33, and Pantages 25.
The Nittany Lions are coming off a 7-5 loss to No. 12 Bucknell on Tuesday, April 17, ending their two-game win streak. The team is led in scoring by Gil Pearsall's 13 goals while Brian Boyle leads the team in assists with eight. Goalie Drew Adams has started all 10 games this season and has 123 saves to go along with his goals-against average of 7.71.
RU leads the all-time series with Penn State, 39-18, with the Nittany Lions having won the previous two meetings. Last season, Penn State defeated the Scarlet Knights, 8-7, on April 22. Rutgers' last victory against Penn State came in 2004 with a 10-6 win on April 24.
Following Sunday's game, the Scarlet Knights will travel to ECAC opponent Georgetown on Saturday, April 28, for a 1:00 p.m. game.
