MLAX Upset Bid Falls Just Short

Tuesday, March 17

Piscataway, N.J.

6:00 PM

Rutgers University

Princeton

Mar 17 | Men's Lacrosse

March 17, 2015

Box Score

PISCATAWAY, N.J. - Rutgers men's lacrosse put a valiant effort against its in-state rivals, but was unable to upset No. 10/13 Princeton, falling 12-11. The Scarlet Knights (3-6) held an 8-5 halftime lead but were undone by five consecutive goals by the Tigers (5-1) in the fourth quarter.

Christian Trasolini scored three goals to lead Rutgers, who also got two goals apiece from Jeff George and Scott Bieda. Joe Nardella was 19-of-27 at the faceoff "X" and 13 ground balls.

"I'm veryproud of the effort and the way we competed tonight," head coach Brian Brecht said. "I know it hurts everyone being involved in a one goal game that comes down to the last possession in the final seconds. This was the third time a top-10 team came to town, and we are better now as a program then we were a few weeks ago."

The first quarter was fairly even, as twice Princeton scored and twice Rutgers answered. Trasolini's first of the game tied things at 1-1 six minutes in. The Tigers tallied with 26 seconds remaining in the quarter, but Nardella won the resulting faceoff, carried down, and scored to knot the game at 2-2.

Trasolini put Rutgers ahead 3-2, and after Princeton answered, the Scarlet Knights ripped off three goals to take a 6-3 lead. George, Trasolini, and Murphy scored to push the RU advantage to 6-3.

Following a Princeton goal, the Scarlet Knights scored twice more to push the lead to 8-4 on goals from Zack Sikora and George. The Tigers added a goal in the final thirty seconds of the half, but Rutgers took an 8-5 lead into the intermission.

In the second half, the No. 10/13 Tigers came roaring back. Mike MacDonald, who finished the game with seven goals, scored the first two goals in the third quarter to cut the lead to 8-7. Ryan Hollingsworth then finished off a nice feed from Bieda, giving RU a 9-7 advantage after three quarters.

In the fourth quarter, Princeton stormed ahead with five consecutive goals, four of them coming off McDonald's stick, and the Tigers went ahead by three.

The Scarlet Knights still had fight left, and refused to quick. Bieda made two exceptional plays, first wrapping around the net and tallying at the 3:25 mark to cut the PU lead to 12-10. Then, with just 72 seconds remaining in the game, he scored a diving goal that made the Tigers lead just one.

Nardella won the resulting faceoff, giving the Scarlet Knights a big possession. Chad Toliver took the initial shot that was saved. A loose ball in front of the net was picked up by RU, and the ball was sent into the net, but the goal was waived off for a crease violation, and the Scarlet Knights upset bid was denied.

The Scarlet Knights held a 34-29 advantage in shots and 33-32 edge in ground balls. Kris Allleyne made seven saves in the cage but took the loss. Princeton substituted freshman goaltender Tyler Blasidell at halftime, and he stopped four shots in the second half to earn the victory.

"I feel strongly that this past week's performances, with the win over Delaware and in the game tonight, that we keep seeing the growth of all the individuals and our team as a whole," Brecht said. "We have gotten better each week as the season has been unfolding. My staff and I look forward to this development to continue in our next game, as well as when the Big Ten games start."

Next up for Rutgers is another in-state matchup on Friday night against NJIT. The opening faceoff will come at 6 p.m.

POSTGAME NOTES
· Joe Nardella tied his season-high for the second straight game with 13 ground balls.
· Scott Bieda reached 50 career goals with his two tallies and passed 100 career points.
· Bieda now has 18 goals this season, tying his career-high.
· Zack Sikora's third goal of the season ties his career-high.
· Nardella's third goal of the season sets a new season-high.
· Christian Trasolini's three goals gave him a team-high 22 goals. It was his fifth time this season with at least three goals.
· In the most played series in Rutgers lacrosse history, Princeton now holds a 61-29-3 advantage.