STONY BROOK, N.Y. – No. 4 Rutgers men's lacrosse continued its unbeaten start to the season, improving to 6-0 overall after dealing Stony Brook their first loss of the season in a 17-16 road victory. The Scarlet Knights held a off a late charge from the Seawolves, making a defensive stand on the game's final possession to clinch the win.
STAT SUMMARY
Rutgers held the advantage in shots (52-45), made just six turnovers while Stony Brook had 14, and were 17-of-17 on clears. SBU held the margin in ground balls (45-27) and faceoffs (25-12).
Rutgers was led by
Ross Scott (four goals, one assist),
Shane Knobloch (three goals, two assists) and
Mitch Bartolo (two goals, three assists) with five points each.
Brian Cameron added a hat trick,
Ronan Jacoby had two goals, and
Eric Civetti and
Ryan Gallagher tallied once apiece.
Colin Kirst made 12 saves for RU.
Ethan Rall led the defense with four ground balls and two caused turnovers.
GAME SUMMARY
Rutgers jumped out to a quick 3-0 lead in the game. Stony Brook answered to tie at 3-3, then a 5-3 RU lead became a 5-5 tie. Stony Brook pushed to a 9-7 advantage late in the second quarter, but RU tied at 9-9 heading into halftime.
The teams exchanged 2-0 runs again as an 11-9 RU lead became a 11-11 tie halfway through the third quarter. From there, RU used a 4-0 and ultimately 6-1 scoring run to take a 17-12 lead with 10 minutes remaining the game. However, Stony Brook came back with a quick four-goal run, bringing the advantage to just one with five minutes still to play. RU's defense held strong from there to stop the scoring. In the game's final seconds,
Colin Kirst made a save with just 12 seconds remaining, and
Ethan Rall scooped the ground ball and ran out the clock to set off the celebration.
POSTGAME NOTES
- Shane Knobloch tied career highs with five points and two assists.
- He had his third straight three-goal game
- Ross Scott had his second straight four-goal game and third time through six games with at least four goals.
- He also tied his career-high with three ground balls.
- Mitch Bartolo had a career-high three assists and six points.
- Brian Cameron had his third game as a Scarlet Knight of at least three goals.
- Rutgers' 6-0 start to the season continues to match the 2017 team for the most recent unbeaten start to a season. The 2017 squad started that season 8-0.
- Head Coach Brian Brecht earned his 75th career victory as Rutgers' head coach and the 140th overall victory of his collegiate head coaching career.
- Rutgers earned its seventh win lifetime over Stony Brook, evening the all-time series.
UP NEXT
No. 4 Rutgers is on the road again next weekend, traveling to in-state rival Princeton. The two squads will battle for the Tots Meistrell Cup. The Tigers, who were ranked No. 18 in the nation entering the weekend, earned a win over No. 3 Georgetown on Saturday
