Rutgers Men's Lacrosse Travels to Army on Tuesday
Mar 05 | Men's Lacrosse
FACING OFF - SCARLET KNIGHTS AT BLACK KNIGHTS
The Rutgers men's lacrosse team heads to West Point, N.Y., to face Army on Tuesday, March 6 at 7 p.m. The contest inside Michie Stadium matches the 3-2 Scarlet Knights against the 2-3 Black Knights. RU won its latest appearance, scoring a 9-6 victory over Lafayette in Piscataway, N.J., on March 3. Army dropped its most recent game to Cornell by a score of 18-7 on March 3. Rutgers fell to Army, 12-4, in last season's meeting (March 19, 2011) at Rutgers' Stadium Complex.
Live and Webcast: GoArmySports.com
LAST TIME OUT - RUTGERS 9, LAFAYETTE 6
The Rutgers men's lacrosse team (3-2) played great in faceoff opportunities and scored twice on extra-man opportunities to control the action against visiting Lafayette (2-2), winning 9-6 on March 3. The Scarlet Knights were anchored in the win by senior M Michael Diehl (Flemington, N.J.) and freshman M Brian Goss (Arlington Heights, Ill.), who both recorded one goal and two assists. Rutgers was led in goal-scoring by redshirt sophomore A Scott Klimchak (Clark, N.J.) and senior M Will Mangan (Maplewood, N.J.), who both put past two goals on the visiting Leopards. Freshman M Joseph Nardella (Cazenovia, N.Y.) was the difference on faceoffs, going 13-for-16 and scooping five ground balls. Junior G Rudy Butler (Belle Mead, N.J.) earned the win (3-2) in between the pipes, making eight saves while allowing six goals.
SCARLET KNIGHTS AND BLACK KNIGHTS DO BATTLE
Rutgers and Army first met in 1923, marking the Scarlet Knight-Black Knight matchup as one of the oldest in RU history. Rutgers trails in the all-time series to Army, 20-53-1 (.277). RU last defeated Army on May 2, 2007 by a score of 10-9. The Black Knights have escaped with four straight wins in the series.
Scouting the ARMY BLACK KNIGHTS
Army (2-3), led by sixth-year head coach Joe Alberici, have received votes in both the IL Media poll and USILA Coaches poll during the 2012 season. Army sported two individuals on the initial Tewaaraton Watch List in senior defenseman Tim Henderson and junior attackman Garrett Thul. The Black Knights are led in scoring in 2012 by Thul's 17 points (16 goals, one assist). Henderson has recorded 21 ground balls thus far, which is good for second-best on the squad.
Midfielders Pat Brennan and John Glesener have tied for the team-high in assists with four each through Army's first five games. In defense, Brendan Buckley leads the way for the Black Knights with 13 caused turnovers. Henderson follows him with nine.
In Army's 18-7 loss to No. 3 Cornell (March 3), the squad was led in scoring by Thul, who netted three goals. Teammate Devin Lynch scored twice.
MANGAN MANAGING THE SCORING
Senior co-captain M Will Mangan (Maplewood, N.J.) has made his mark for Rutgers in its 2012 campaign. Through five games, Mangan leads the Scarlet Knights with 15 points coming from a team-best 12 goals and three assists. His place as a focal point of the RU offense is cemented by his team-leading 39 shots taken. Mangan has consistently shown his nose for the action by scooping 16 ground balls, which is good for second-best on the squad. Mangan was named to the Feb. 27 edition of the BIG EAST Weekly Honor Roll.
DON'T FACE NARDELLA
Freshman M Joseph Nardella (Cazenovia, N.Y.) has a knack for faceoffs. The Scarlet Knight won 13-of-16 (.813) opportunities in the 9-6 victory over Lafayette (March 3). The effort improved his season totals to 38-of-57 for a faceoff win percentage of .667 (Fifth in NCAA). Nardella currently leads the Rutgers squad in ground balls, pulling in 19 thus far in 2012. For his efforts against Lafayette, Nardella was named the BIG EAST Defensive Player of the Week on March 5.
TRUE FRESHMAN MAKES IMPACT
Rutgers' starting lineup through the five games so far this season has been bolstered by the presence of freshman M Brian Goss (Arlington Heights, Ill.). The first-year competitor for RU scored a goal and assisted another in his Rutgers debut at Duke (Feb. 11) and again against Air Force (Feb. 19). Goss' latest outing was three points (one goal, two assists) vs. Lafayette, which tied him for the team-lead.
Amongst his teammates, Goss is in good company for true freshmen who started a season opener. Sophomore D Nicholas Contino (Branchburg, N.J.) started the 2011 opener vs. Wagner. Junior G Rudy Butler (Belle Mead, N.J.) got the starting nod to begin the season at Wagner in 2010. Seniors Michael Diehl (Flemington, N.J.), Kevin Hover (Belle Mead, N.J.) and Jacob Fradkin (Brooklandville, Md.) started vs. Villanova to kick off 2009.
