PISCATAWAY, N.J. – No. 9/10 Rutgers men's lacrosse opened the 2023 season with a victory on Saturday afternoon at SHI Stadium. The Scarlet Knights earned a 20-8 win over the Red Foxes to begin the new campaign in the win column.

Rutgers was led by Dante Kulas with five goals. Brian Cameron, Ross Scott and Jack Aimone each had three goals as well. Kyle Mullin made 10 saves to earn the win in cage and Jonathan Dugenio was 16-of-24 on faceoffs to key RU's possession advantage.

Game Summary

Rutgers raced out to a quick 4-0 lead. The Scarlet Knights opened the scoring just 2:10 in, with Brian Cameron tallying the first goal of the season, then scored again off the faceoff. Five minutes in, the lead was 4-0. After one quarter, the score was 4-2.

Cameron's second goal of the game put RU ahead 5-2. RU made it a five-goal run over a five minute span, including goals from Ross Scott and Dante Kulas just eight seconds apart, leading to a Marist timeout and a 9-2 RU lead. In the second quarter, RU outshot Marist 21-4 for a 12-2 halftime lead.

Rutgers then outscored Marist 6-4 in the third quarter. In the fourth quarter, RU was able to get playing time for the depth on its roster and held off the Red Foxes for the victory.

Postgame Notes

• David Sprock saw his first game action since 2021 after missing last season with an injury.
• Dante Kulas had five goals and three assists, both career-highs for a career-high eight points.
• Jack Aimone had a career-high three goals (and three points) in his first collegiate start.
• Brian Cameron had a hat trick, his sixth as a Scarlet Knight.
• Freshman Brady Kurdyla scored his first collegiate goal.
• Bobby Russo had a career-high two points and three caused turnovers.
• Justin Kim had a career-high two points (one goal, one assists).
• Collegiate debuts: Mitch Baker, Matt Dollive, Brady Kurdyla, Andrew Macheca, Shane Murphy,  

The win represented:

• The 150th win in the head coaching career of Brian Brecht (85 wins at RU)
• RU improved to 11-1 in season openers under head coach Brian Brecht, with 11 straight season-opening wins
• RU has 19 wins in the past 21 season openers
• Rutgers has claimed wins over Marist in back-to-back seasons, 5-1 all-time vs. the Red Foxes, including 5-0 at home

Rutgers rolled out this starting lineup:
Attack: Ross Scott, Brian Cameron, Dante Kulas
Midfield: Shane Knobloch, David Sprock, Jack Aimone
Defense: Bobby Russo, Brad Apgar, Jack Stahanczyk
Goalkeeper: Kyle Mullin

• Dante Kulas, Jack Aimone made their first start of the collegiate career.
• Kyle Mullin made the first start of his Rutgers' career (RU debut after being the starting goalkeeper at Harvard last season).