Rutgers Avenges Loss to St. Joseph's
from press release
PISCATAWAY, N.J. – The Rutgers men’s lacrosse team (2-1) avenged its stunning loss to St. Joseph’s (0-5) last season with a dominating 15-6 victory over the Hawks Saturday afternoon at the RU Turf Field.
Junior attackman Kory Kelly (Princeton, N.J.), senior midfielder
Justin Pennington (Flemington, N.J.) and sophomore attackman Kevin
Hover (Belle Mead, N.J.) each posted four points. Kelly and
Pennington tallied three goals and an assist apiece and Hover
scored two goals and dished out a pair of assists. Additionally,
Pennington helped keep RU’s offensive attack rolling with
four ground balls and two caused turnovers.
Senior co-captains midfielder Gerhard Buehning (Essex Fells, N.J.)
and attackman Tad Stanwick (Baltimore, Md.) each posted two goals
and Stanwick added an assist.
Most of Saturday’s action took place in Rutgers’ attack
area as RU outshot SJU by a 41-20 margin and a Scarlet Knight
claimed 14 of the 22 faceoffs.
Junior midfielder Chris Mattes (Westfield, N.J.) spearheaded
numerous offensives opportunities for the Scarlet Knights by
winning 12 of his 18 faceoffs.
Freshman goalie Rudy Butler (Belle Mead, N.J.) earned his second
victory of the season and earned two saves and a groundball.
With the win, the Scarlet Knights lead the all-time series against
the Hawks by a 6-1 margin.
“There was a lot of emotion going into today’s game
because it was very important to our guys to get this win,”
said ninth-year Rutgers head coach Jim Stagnitta. “They
wanted to make up for last year because they felt they let that
game get away and they thought it was a real black mark on our
record. We focused on making sure we took control of the game
early. I thought we played with a lot of intensity and
emotion.”
Heading into the St. Joseph’s contest, Stagnitta stressed the
importance of getting an early lead on the Hawks and the Scarlet
Knights answered their coach’s call with by posting a 6-1
advantage after the first 15 minutes of play. Senior midfielder
Brendan Porter (Maplewood, N.J.) highlighted the scoring showcase
by taking an assist from junior midfielder Steven Watson (Belle
Mead, N.J.) and firing a shot that cut the goal’s net with 19
seconds left in the first quarter. The score was Porter’s
first of the season and fifth of his RU career.
The Scarlet Knights catapulted their lead by posting four goals in
the second quarter and went into halftime with a commanding 10-2
lead.
Rutgers did not let up in the second half as Pennington earned his
hat trick 44 seconds into the second stanza. Pennington has scored
six goals this season and 63 over his four years as a Scarlet
Knight.
“Pennington played terrific today,” commented
Stagnitta. ”He proved once again why many people consider him
one of the best midfielders in the country.”
Butler was replaced by senior Billy Olin (Horseheads, N.Y.) five
minutes into the second half. Olin snatched four saves to put his
career total at 346. Olin is one save away from tying former
Scarlet Knight Billy Fisher (1978-80) for 10th on RU’s career
saves list.
Stanwick put Rutgers’ lead at double-digits for good off an
assist from Hover at the 9:10 mark. Rutgers cruised the rest of the
way with Kelly and sophomores Nicholas Zerrillo (Brewerton, N.Y.)
and Jonathan Lefferts (Moorestown, N.J.) each getting on the
scoreboard.
Stagnitta has been impressed with the improvements Kelly has shown
in the first three games of the season.
“Kelly was able to carry the ball and create some
opportunities today,” said Stagnitta. “He is not just
standing there and shooting 15 yards away. He had a couple of
opportunities today to have assists. I think he has shown the
progress he has made as an offensive player.”
