Rutgers Men Stun No. 13 Hobart, 5-4
from press release
GENEVA, N.Y. (MARCH 21, 2009) - Junior Justin Pennington (Flemington, N.J.) and freshman Mike Diehl (Flemington, N.J.) posted back-to-back goals to break a tie in the fourth quarter and lead the Rutgers men's lacrosse team to a 5-4 win at No. 14 Hobart on Saturday afternoon.
The win is the first for the Rutgers over a top-15 program since the Scarlet Knights topped No. 8 Loyola on April 7, 2007.
Rutgers improves to 2-5 overall and 1-1 in the ECAC. Hobart drops its first game of the season to fall to 5-1 overall and 1-1 in league play.
Diehl recorded his fourth two-goal game of the season and added an assist, while Pennington netted a goal and an assist to move his point total to a team-high 14. Chris Pedersen tallied a team-best two goals for Hobart
Junior Billy Olin (Horseheads, N.Y.) and the RU defense dominated the first half. Olin made six saves and Hobart did not get onto the scoreboard until the 2:12 mark of the second quarter.
Rutgers scored the first three goals of the game, including a strike from Diehl with only two seconds remaining in the first quarter. Sophomore Kory Kelly (Princeton, N.J.) and junior Gerhard Buehning (Essex Fells, N.J.) each scored for RU in the second quarter to give the Scarlet Knights a 3-0 lead. Kelly's score was his team-high 12th of the season.
After a scoreless third quarter, Hobart quickly tied the game on consecutive goals from Pedersen and Kevin Curtin. Diehl's second score of the day gave RU the lead back with 11:23 remaining in the game. Pennington then scored on a pass from Diehl to push RU's lead back to two.
Pedersen scored for the Statesmen with 17 seconds remaining to cut RU's lead to 5-4. Hobart then won the ensuing face-off, but Brendan Porter (Maplewood, N.J.) forced a turnover to seal the win for the Scarlet Knights.
Rutgers will step out of conference on Tuesday, March 24 to take on No. 5 Princeton. The game, which will be held at either Yurcak Field or the RU Turf Field, will get under way at 7 p.m.
