Men's Lacrosse 2022 Season Review
Jul 20 | Men's Lacrosse
Scarlet Knights make Final Four for first time
The Scarlet Knights' 2022 season was historic and filled with broken records. RU smashed the previous program record for wins, grabbing 15 victories. The team won back-to-back NCAA Tournament games for the first time, downing No. 14 Harvard and No. 3 Penn to advance to the Final Four for the first time.
RU set a record with six ranked wins this season, included matching the highest ranked win in program history with the win over No. 3 Penn and three top-10 wins for the second consecutive season. RU is 12-7 over the past two seasons against ranked teams and the became the first RU men's program to make the Final Four since 1994.
Rutgers finished the season with a 15-4 record. All of the team's losses came to the other three Final Four Teams (Maryland twice, Princeton, Cornell), with conference rival Maryland claiming the national championship.
Gallery: Men's Lacrosse 2022 Season Photos
- First Ever Final Four
- Program Record for Wins (15, surpassing previous record of 11)
- Program Record for Ranked Wins (6)
- Three top-10 wins, doing so for second consecutive season
- Back-to-back NCAA Tournament wins for first time
- Tied for highest ranked win ever (No. 3 Penn)
- First RU men’s program to make Final Four since 1994 (men’s soccer)
- All-Americans
- Ethan Rall (First Team: USA Lacrosse Magazine; Second Team: USILA; Second Team: Inside Lacrosse)
- Colin Kirst (Second Team: USILA; Honorable Mention: Inside Lacrosse; Honorable Mention: USA Lacrosse Magazine)
- Brennan Kamish (Second Team: USILA; Third Team: Inside Lacrosse; Honorable Mention: USA Lacrosse Magazine)
- Ross Scott (Third Team: USILA; Honorable Mention: Inside Lacrosse; Honorable Mention: USA Lacrosse Magazine)
- Jaryd Jean-Felix (Honorable Mention: USILA; Honorable Mention: Inside Lacrosse; Honorable Mention: USA Lacrosse Magazine)
- Ronan Jacoby (Honorable Mention: USILA; Honorable Mention: Inside Lacrosse; Honorable Mention: USA Lacrosse Magazine)
- Shane Knobloch (Honorable Mention: USILA; Honorable Mention: USA Lacrosse Magazine)
- Scholar All-American
- Zackary Franckowiak, Colin Kirst, Ethan Rall, Brennan Kamish, Jaryd Jean-Felix, Ronan Jacoby, Ryan Gallagher, Mitch Bartolo
- Zackary Franckowiak, Colin Kirst, Ethan Rall, Brennan Kamish, Jaryd Jean-Felix, Ronan Jacoby, Ryan Gallagher, Mitch Bartolo
- All Big-Ten
- Ethan Rall: First Team
- Colin Kirst: First Team
- Shane Knobloch: First Team
- Ross Scott: Second Team
- Jaryd Jean-Felix: Second Team
- Ronan Jacoby: Second Team
- Bobby Russo: Sportsmanship Award
- Bobby Russo: Sportsmanship Award
- ECAC
- Ethan Rall (Defensive Player of the Year)
- Brian Brecht (Coach of the Year)
- All-ECAC: Ethan Rall, Colin Kirst, Mitch Bartolo, Ross Scott, Ronan Jacoby and Shane Knobloch (First Team). Jaryd Jean-Felix and Brennan Kamish (Honorable Mention)
- Big Ten Academic
- 25 Academic All-Big Ten selections
- Bobby Russo: Outstanding Sportsmanship Award
- Zackary Franckowiak: Postgraduate Scholarship
- NCAA Tournament
- All-Tournament Team: Ross Scott
- All-Tournament Team: Ross Scott
- Big Ten Tournament
- All-Tournament Team: Mitch Bartolo, Colin Kirst, Ross Scott
TEAM
- 13.32 turnovers per game: First in the nation
- 90.5% clearing percentage: Fifth in the nation (and first in Big Ten)
- 14.47 goals per game: Ninth in the nation
INDIVIDUAL
Ross Scott
- 50 Goals: Tied for most in a single-season in RU program history
- 75 Points: Second most in a single-season in RU program history
Mitch Bartolo
- 45 Goals: Fifth most in a single-season in RU program history
Ethan Rall
- 31 Caused Turnovers (Program Single-Season Record)
- 1.63 Caused Turnovers Per Game: First in Big Ten
Colin Kirst
- 12.32 Saves Per Game: First in Big Ten
- 11.08 Goals Against Average: Second in Big Ten
Offensviely, Bartolo and Scott became the first set of RU teammates with 40-plus goals in the same season. Overall, RU has five played with at least 30 goals and 40 points: Ross Scott (50 goals, 25 assists), Mitch Bartolo (45 goals, 17 assists), Ronan Jacoby (37 goals, 11 assists), Shane Knobloch (32 goals, 16 assists) and Brian Cameron (34 goals, 10 assists).
Rutgers used the same starting lineup in its final 13 games, featuring Scott, Bartolo and Cameron on attack, Jacoby, Knobloch and Ryan Gallagher at midfield, Jaryd Jean-Felix, Bobby Russo and Bryant Boswell on defense and Kirst in goal. Scott, Bartolo, Jacoby, Knobloch, Gallagher, Russo, Jean-Felix and Kirst started all 19 games, with Cameron starting all 18 he was active for, and Boswell starting the final 13.
The Scarlet Knights were hot right out of the gates in 2022, opening the year at 6-0. That opening salvo included two ranked wins, with RU toppling No. 10 Army, 13-10, and grabbing a 13-12 road win at No. 19 Loyola.
The team's first setback didn't come until mid-March at No. 7 Princeton. But RU responded to that with another win streak, reeling off five more wins to improve to 10-1, the fastest ever for RU to reach double-digit wins. That stretch included three straight wins by double-digit goals, including an 18-7 shellacking of No. 8 Ohio State to open Big Ten play, and the team's third win in its past four meetings against Johns Hopkins. RU closed out the regular seasons with a win at Michigan, and then had a comeback victory on Senior Day, as Ross Scott scored both the game-tying goal with eight seconds left in regulation and then the game-winning goal in overtime for a 15-14 win over Penn State to capture the Friendship Cup trophy in front of a program record attendance of 5,223.
At the Big Ten Tournament, RU notched another milestone with a 12-10 win over No. 12 Ohio State in the Tournament Semifinals. The win marked the program's second ever trip to the Big Ten Tournament Championship, and first since 2016. The team continued its dominance over Ohio State, with the team's seventh straight win over the Buckeyes.
After a stellar regular season, Rutgers earned at at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament for the second consecutive season and made their 11th all-time NCAA Tournament appearance. RU was awarded the No. 6 seed in the bracket and earned the right to host a First Round game for the first time since 2003.
The Scarlet Knights opened NCAA play against No. 14 Harvard, and hosted the matchup at Yurcak Field in front of a packed house. A raucous crowd of 5,212 packed the venue, marking the largest crowd of the weekend third largest crowd for an NCAA Tournament First Round game since 2003. The team earned a dominant 19-9 win over the Crimson to claim NCAA Tournament wins in back-to-back seasons for the first time in program history. Ross Scott was the star on the offensive end, scoring eight goals, nearly equaling Harvard's team total singlehandedly, and was named the national Offensive Player of the Week. Colin Kirst added 17 saves on the day, as RU turned a 7-4 halftime lead into a blowout with a 12-4 second half run.
For the Quarterfinals, RU headed to Long Island, facing No. 3 Penn at Hofstra. The day would be historic for the program, as the Scarlet Knights downed the Quakers, 11-9, for the highest ranked win in program history and the team's first ever trip to the Final Four. Trailing 8-6 in the second half, RU took a timeout, regrouped, then scored five goals in the next eight minutes, a 5-0 stretch that turned a two-goal deficit to a three-goal lead and ensured the win. Colin Kirst excelled once again with 18 saves and Shane Knobloch led a balanced offensive effort with three goals.
The magical run would culminate on Memorial Day Weekend, facing off against a third straight Ivy League foe in the Final Four against No. 7 seed Cornell. A game that was interrupted at halftime by a weather delay over three and a half hours ultimately would go Cornell's way, but did not put a damper on all that was accomplished over the course of the season.
"I'm very thankful for our senior leadership, our captains. That's been great all year and allowed us to have a program record 15 wins and make the first Final Four in program history. A lot of credit to them for what they've done on and off the field. I'm very proud of what they've accomplished this year and over the course of their careers."Head Coach Brian Brecht
Rutgers featured 27 seniors who graduated with their Undergraduate or Masters degrees, with the team missing the University’s main commencement, which was held on the same day as RU’s NCAA Tournament First Round contest.
The group included:
Two attackmen: Mitch Bartolo and Eric Civetti
Seven midfielders: Ryan Gallagher, Ronan Jacoby, Andrew Kim, Justin Kim, Joe Peterson, Michael Sanguinetti and David Sprock
Six defensemen: Brad Apgar, Bryant Boswell, Jaryd Jean-Felix, Bobby Russo, Jack Stahanczyk and Jonathan Taub
Three goalkeeper: Toby Burgdorf, Colin Kirst and Stephen Russo
Two long-stick midfielders: Ethan Rall and Brian Ward
Four short-stick defensive midfielders: Tommy Coyne, Cole Daninger, Zackary Franckowiak and Brennan Kamish
Three faceoff specialists: Michael Ott, Sam Stephan and Moriah Yousefi
Eight of those seniors who participated in the Senior Day ceremony committed to a return for the 2023 season, while additional seniors are still undecided and could return to utilize additional eligibility. Those eight seniors set to return for 2023 are:
- Defenseman Brad Apgar
- Attackman Eric Civetti
- Midfielder Andrew Kim
- Midfielder Justin Kim
- Long-Stick Midfielder Ethan Rall
- Defenseman Bobby Russo
- Midfielder David Sprock
- Defenseman Jack Stahanczyk
For a long time, this large group of veteran leaders will be remembered for the impact that they made for the program.
"I'm going to remember this year as the best year of my life. We accomplished a lot over the course of this season. I think we've set a new bar for the program that our team can get back to Final Four weekend again. I'm thankful to be a part of it."Captain Ryan Gallagher
