Rutgers University
Richmond University
MLAX Falls at Richmond
Feb 14 | Men's Lacrosse
RICHMOND, Va. (Feb. 14, 2015) -Rutgers took its first loss of the 2015 campaign on Saturday afternoon, falling 15-7 to Richmond at Robins Stadium. The contest marked the second straight road game to open the year for RU,
Scott Bieda led the Scarlet Knights with three points, scoring twice and adding an assist. Five other Rutgers players scored goals: Brian Goss, Chad Toliver, Jeff George, Zack Sikora, and Connor Murphy.
"Richmond was the better team today," head coach Brian Brecht said. "They did a great job in every aspect of the game. My hope is that we can learn from this experience and figure out what our identity is as a team as we head through the season and prepare for our home opener next week."
The Scarlet Knights got on the board first with Goss' goal just 1:48 into the game. The Spiders responded with four straight goals to take a 4-1 lead early in the second quarter.
Bieda and Toliver both scored first half goals, but Richmond scored two goals in the final 21 seconds of the half to take a 9-3 lead at intermission.
Bieda scored his second of the game to open scoring in the third quarter, and George also tallied in the third. The Spiders held a 13-5 lead after three quarters. Sikora and Murphy found the back of the net in the fourth, but Richmond closed out the 15-7 victory.
The Scarlet Knights won 17 out of 26 faceoffs on the day. Richmond held a 43-37 advantage in shots and a 34-30 edge in ground balls. The Scarlet Knights were unable to capitalize on five man-up opportunities, while the Spiders were 2-of-5 with an extra man. Mitch Goldberg led Richmond with five goals.
Kris Alleyne made nine saves for RU while allowing 14 goals to take his first loss of the season. Joe Nardella led the team with 13 wins at the faceoff 'X' and six ground balls.
The Scarlet Knights will head home with their next five games scheduled for High Points Solutions Stadium. Next up for RU is the home opener against No. 9 Virginia on Saturday, Feb. 21 at 1 p.m. Tickets are available here.
Postgame Notes
· Freshman Chad Toliver scored his first career goal.
· Freshmen Joe Francisco and Alex Schoen each won their first career faceoff.
· The goals by Murphy, Goss and Sikora were their first of the season.
· Two freshmen made their career debut - Alex Larson and Alex Bronzo.
· Three returners made their season debut - Kevin Albert, Jacob Coretti, and Connor Murphy.
· Larson played the fourth quarter in goal, making four saves and allowing one goal.
· Joe Nardella and Nick Capparelli each had a caused turnover.
· Rutgers scored first in the game for the second time this season.
· Rutgers used the same starting lineup as the season opener: Christian Trasolini, Jules Heningburg, Scott Bieda, Jeff George, Christian Mazzone, Brian Goss, Michael Rexrode, Branford Rogers, Nick Capparelli, and Kris Alleyne.
