PISCATAWAY, N.J. – No. 19/20 Rutgers men's lacrosse returns to action at SHI Stadium for game number three on the young season this Saturday. The Scarlet Knights host Stony Brook for a 1 pm contest.
There will be a live stream on B1G+ with Dom Savino and Alex Schoen on the call. Rutgers' Student Radio (88.7 FM, WRSU) will also provide a radio broadcast of the contest.
Rutgers is 2-0 on the year, earning a road victory at then-No. 20 Lehigh (10-6) and a home win over LIU (17-3). The Scarlet Knights, who have outscored foes by a combined 27-9 margin, have seen 15 different goal scorers overall and seven different players with multiple goals.
Colin Kelly has the team lead with four goals overall after posting a hat trick to lead the way in the season opener. He is closely followed by
Dante Kulas,
Colin Kurdyla and
JJ Aiello, who each have three goals this season.
In the win over LIU Tuesday, Rutgers had six players score their first goal as a Scarlet Knight, which included six overall goals from freshmen. Three freshmen scored the first goal of their collegiate career. 11 of the 17 goals in the game came from players who did not see game action as a Scarlet Knight last season.
Matthew Paolatto was 11-of-14 on faceoffs in the contest.
JJ Aiello is the reigning Big Ten Freshman of the Week, after posting three goals and an assist in the first two contests. Short stick defensive midfielder and captain
Joe Juengerkes was named to the USILA Team of the Week after collecting five ground balls and three caused turnovers. Goalkeeper
Cardin Stoller is top-six in the nation in goals-against-average (4.68) and save percentage (69.0).
Under sixth-year head coach Anthony Gilardi, the Seawolves are coming off a 4-10 season last year, which was their second season in the CAA. The team's key returners include captains Jamison MacLachlan between the pipes and Robbie Smith at the faceoff X.
Rutgers and Stony Brook have previously met 15 times since 1994, with RU holding an 9-6 advantage. Rutgers has won four of the last five meetings. The teams will meet for the fourth straight season. Last season, the Scarlet Knights earned a 16-12 road win, scoring seven of the game's first eight goals en route to a commanding victory. Rutgers has won four straight and five of the past six contests in the series.
Rutgers is back on the road for the season's fourth game. The team takes a trip up to West Point to face Army on Saturday, Feb. 15.
