PISCATAWAY, N.J. - No. 7 Rutgers men's lacrosse opened the 2018 season with a victory, winning 11-7 over Robert Morris Saturday afternoon at High Point Solutions Stadium.
Christian Trasolini led the team with three goals, while
Jules Heningburg paced the team with six points (one goal and five assists).
Christian Mazzone also had two goals and two assists, with
Casey Rose scoring twice.
Max Edelmann made five saves in goal.
Shots were 33-33 on the day, while ground balls went in the visitor's favor, 36-31. Rutgers caused seven turnovers, with
Michael Rexrode leading the team with two,
Garrett Michaeli had five ground balls.
Alex Schoen was 13-of-21 on faceoffs with a team-high six ground balls.
"I thought we got off to a good start in the first quarter, scoring the first three goals of the game," head coach
Brian Brecht said. "These early season games, you don't have a lot of film. There's still room for improvement, but when you play at this level, all wins are good wins. That's a great way for us to start the season."
The Scarlet Knights got out to an early lead in the game, and never trailed. Heningburg tallied his goal 91 seconds into the game, and was followed by goals from Mazzone and
Connor Vercruysse for a 3-0 lead halfway through the opening period.
RMU came back with the next three goals, tying the score after one frame. But the second period was all Scarlet Knights. Rutgers scored all four goals in the second frame, including a pair from Trasolini and the first career tally from freshman
Ryan Gallagher, to post a 7-3 halftime lead.
Trasolini tallied his first of the day just after halftime, but the Colonials came back with the next two to cut the lead to 8-5.
Chad Toliver countered with a goal for Rutgers, but RMU came back with two more goals to cut the lead to two at 9-7.
However, the home team had a quick answer, as Rose scored just 25 seconds later to put the Scarlet Knights back up by three goals. Mazzone iced the game late with a goal in the waning seconds, and RU finished off the 11-7 victory.
"I'm very proud of the defense today," Brecht. "They did a great job for us today, I was very impressed with that group. It was good to see some freshmen get some good minutes today. And the veteran guys are very experienced out there. This was a good team effort to get the season started on the right track."
Next up for the Scarlet Knights is a home game against St. John's, next Saturday at 1 p.m.
Postgame Notes
- This marked the career debuts for
Ryan Gallagher and
Tommy Coyne.
-
Garrett Michaeli and
Connor Vercruysse made their first career starts.
-
Christian Mazzone tied a career-high with four points.
-
Garrett Michaeli had a career-high five ground balls.
Tickets for the 2018 season are on sale through the Rutgers Ticket Office online or by calling 1-866-445-GORU (4678).
Follow Rutgers Athletics on Facebook (www.facebook.com/RutgersAthletics) and Twitter (@RUAthletics) for all of the latest news and updates. For specific updates regarding Rutgers men's lacrosse, follow the program and Brecht on Twitter (@RUMLax and @RUlaxCoach) and Facebook. Fans can receive timely information, including special offers and giveaways throughout the year on our social media outlets along with www.ScarletKnights.com.
