PISCATAWAY - Greg Rinaldi was an elite lacrosse player in his time at Rutgers. His name remains stamped all across the program's record books as one of the top goal-scorers in program history in both goals (144, second all-time) and points (178, eighth all-time).

With those credentials, his status as a Hall of Famer is certainly assured. As he is honored this Friday night for his collegiate exploits, he is eager to share the experience with his family. He has passed the game of lacrosse down to the next generation, and is excited for his son to gain an appreciation for his accomplishments. 

"He's in fifth grade and he is getting really into it," Rinaldi detailed. "He loves the game, I'm really proud of him. He does really well. It's exciting to watch his growth. This will be good for him to be at this event. Maybe he will actually let me coach him up a little bit now."

Rinaldi was instrumental in a very successful time for the men's lacrosse program, as he was a part of teams that combined to win 35 games in his four seasons 'On the Banks', which is the third most victories by any Rutgers lacrosse class. Of all those successes, the most memorable came in 1990 – his senior season. That year, the team went 10-5, qualifying for the NCAA Tournament.

"We had some really good wins that season," Rinaldi recalled. "Beating Johns Hopkins at their place was a big deal. Also beating Army and Navy was big. Playing against those two were always my favorite games to play in because they were so physical."

The Scarlet Knights were not satisfied with simply qualifying for the postseason. The team continued its success by winning the first game of NCAA Tournament action in a 7-6 victory against Virginia.

"That was incredible. It was a great, great feeling," Rinaldi said. "Qualifying for the tournament first of all was a big deal on its own, let alone the emotion of winning that first game and moving on. Making the tournament that year was special, that was the result of everything we had worked so hard and put in the time for to be able to get there. Everybody bought in. Everyone knew their role. We were experienced and we were tough. It was competitive but it was really fun."

There was one day in particular where Rinaldi took his goal-scoring to another level. On April 11, 1990 against Lehigh, Rinaldi found the back of the net 10 different times in a 21-6 win. That 10-goal performance still stands as the top single-game goal scoring performance in school history.

"That was just one of those days where the goal was as big as an ocean," Rinaldi said. "Everything I threw at the cage was going in. Probably half of them I could have closed my eyes and scored. Sometimes the goal is as big as the ocean and sometimes it's as small as a thimble. That was one of those days were it worked out in my favor."

This weekend, all of Rinaldi's accomplishments will be celebrated. His recognitions as a three-time All-American and two-time Team MVP will be mentioned alongside his appearance in the North-South Game. But the part of the weekend that Rinaldi looks forward to the most is simply being able to reunite with old teammates and reminisce.

"I wouldn't have been able to do what I did without all of my teammates helping me," Rinaldi declared. "I'm the lucky one who will be up there, but it really could have been any of us. I'm looking more forward to seeing them than anything else about this. Some of my best friends will be coming for this. It's going to be a great weekend."