Rutgers Travels to UMass for Season Finale
May 02 | Men's Lacrosse
PISCATAWAY, N.J. - The Rutgers men's lacrosse team will wrap up the 2008 season Saturday as the Scarlet Knights travel to Amherst, Mass. to take on the University of Massachusetts in the season finale for both teams. The game will air live on CN8 at 3 p.m. as the ECAC Lacrosse Game of the Week. The action can be seen throughout CN8's entire market, ranging from Maine to Virginia, which encompasses over nine million homes.
Rutgers and Massachusetts both enter the game with identical 3-3 conference marks. The winner of the contest will finish in a tie with Hobart for third place, but both teams hold the tiebreaker against the Statesmen based on head-to-head wins earlier in the season.
The Scarlet Knights (5-7, 3-3) are coming off a loss to No. 4 Georgetown, 13-7, on Saturday, April 26 in their home finale. Sophomore Justin Pennington (Flemington, N.J.) and junior Jeff Rommel (Syracuse, N.Y.) each scored twice in the loss.
UMass (5-8, 3-3) has dropped three straight games after winning three consecutive league games. The Minutemen are led by Tim Balise, who has 17 goals in his last five games, and Zach Rodgers, who is fifth in the ECAC in assists per game.
The Scarlet Knights trail the all-time series with the Minutemen 17-9. However, Rutgers broke a three-game losing streak against Massachusetts with a 9-8 win last year in the season finale at Yurcak Field. Five different Scarlet Knights recorded goals in the game, including Pennington, who notched two scores. The Minutemen out-shot the Scarlet Knights 41-29. Rutgers goalie Billy Olin (Horseheads, N.Y.) made 12 saves to help preserve the one-goal victory. UMass holds a 10-3 edge over Rutgers in games played in Amherst. UMass is 3-3 at home this season. 
GAME NOTES
