PISCATAWAY, N.J. - No. 6 Rutgers men's lacrosse has opened the season 3-0, and returns back home on Saturday for a matchup of top-10 teams as RU hosts No. 10 Army. The game begins at 1 p.m. and there will be a giveaway of a camouflage Rutgers lacrosse hat. It will be Military Appreciation as at halftime RU will honor past letterwinners who have served or are currently serving in the military. 

Rutgers is led offensively by Ross Scott (10 goals, five assists) and Mitch Bartolo (10 goals, 2 assists). Jonathan Dugenio has won 69.6% of his faceoffs (39-of-56). Goalkeeper Colin Kirst has a 6.91 goals-against-average and 66.1% save percentage. Following their performance last week, Big Ten weekly awards were bestowed upon Ethan Rall (7 GB, 7 CT, Defensive Player) and Dante Kulas (4 G, 2 A, Freshman). 

The Scarlet Knights are fourth in the NCAA in scoring defense (7.33) and seventh in scoring offense (17.00). KIrst is fourth nationally in save percentage (66.1%) while Rall is sixth in the nation in caused turnovers at 3.0 per game. 

BROADCAST INFO
The game will be live streamed on B1G+ with Dom Savino and Rick Mercurio on the call. Rutgers Student Radio, WRSU 88.7 FM, will also have a live radio broadcast.

ABOUT ARMY
Army opened the season with a 14-13 win over UMass. The Black Knights were led by five goals and three assists from Brendan Nichtern. Army is 59-23-1 in the all-time series, which dates back to 1923, the second most played series by RU. 

WITH A VICTORY
A win for the Scarlet Knights would represent a 4-0 start to the year for first time since 2017 and be the program's first victory over Army since 2017. Rutgers is looking for its first ranked win of the season and 25th lifetime. Last season, RU had five ranked wins and three top-10 wins.



A HISTORIC 2021 CAMPAIGN
The 2021 season marked a breakthrough campaign for the Rutgers men's lacrosse program. The Scarlet Knights navigated a challenging double round robin conference-only schedule in the grueling Big Ten with ease, finishing the regular season with an 8-2 mark. RU earned an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament, qualifying for the NCAAs for the first time since 2004 and subsequently winning an NCAA Tournament game for the first time since 1990. 

TRANSFER PORTAL SUCCESS
RU has become a prominent place for transfers to thrive. Overall, the current roster features 15 student-athletes that came to RU as transfers. 

In last season's NCAA Tournament run, the Scarlet Knights started three transfers in their first year at RU, including All-Americans in goalkeeper Colin Kirst and attackman Connor Kirst, alongside faceoff man Jonathan Dugenio, with six new transfers entering overall. 

This season, RU again went to the transfer portal and hauled in a talented group of incoming transfers set to make an immediate impact. Inside Lacrosse ranked Rutgers' as the No. 1 incoming transfer class. The group features:

- Brad Apgar (Defenseman from Salisbury): Three-Time All-American at Salisbury
- Mitch Bartolo (Attackman from Penn): Team Captain, 20 Goals in 27 Games at Penn
- Bryant Boswell (Defenseman from Bucknell): Two-Time All-Conference at Bucknell
- Toby Burgdorf (Goalkeeper from Providence): 18 Starts at Providence
- Brian Cameron (Attackman from UNC): 38 Goals in 38 Games at UNC
- Ronan Jacoby (Attackman from Wesleyan): Three-Time All-American at Wesleyan
- Sam Stephan (Faceoff from Mount St. Mary's): 54.5% on faceoffs at MSM

ALL-AMERICAN ACCOLADES
The Scarlet Knights set a program record last year with seven players named All-Americans by the USILA. Two of those players graduated, but RU returns five of those All-Americans from last season: Colin Kirst (Third Team), Jaryd Jean-Felix, Shane Knobloch, Ethan Rall and Davis Sprock (Honorable Mention). In this season's preseason polling, four RU student-athletes were recognized, with Kirst, Rall and Sprock tabbed alongside Brennan Kamish. 

NEW LOOK ON OFFENSE
The Scarlet Knights will have a new look to their offense this season. RU graduated three All-American attackmen from last season's roster as Adam Charalambides, Kieran Mullins and Connor Kirst moved on. The trio combined for 109 goals and 165 points last season. RU's top returning leading scorer, midfielder David Sprock, will miss the season due to an injury suffered in the preseason. Those four combined for 68% of the team's goal-scoring and 66% of the team's points last season. RU does return talent such as Big Ten Freshman of the Year Shane Knobloch, captain Ryan Gallagher, and Ross Scott, as well as brought in talented transfers to add to the offense (Mitch Bartolo, Ronan Jacoby, Brian Cameron). 

ROSS SCOTT TABBED AS BREAKOUT STAR
In a preseason analysis, USA Lacrosse Magazine tabbed Ross Scott as a likely breakout star on the Scarlet Knights roster. Scott has started five games in his career with 14 goals and six assists in 20 games. After posting a career-high two goals in the NCAA Quarterfinal game against UNC, the junior will look to make the most of his time taking a larger role in the RU offense. 

BIG TEN PLAYERS TO WATCH
Three RU players were selected as preseason players to watch by the Big Ten Conference: Colin Kirst, Ross Scott and Bobby Russo. Scott was also tabbed as a Breakout Star by USA Lacrosse Magazine.