Rugters Stops Air Force Comeback
from press release
SYRACUSE, N.Y. – The Rutgers men’s
lacrosse team defeated Air Force by a score of 11-10 inside the
Carrier Dome on Sunday to record the first win of head coach Brian
Brecht’s tenure. The Scarlet Knights fended off the Falcons
down the stretch after securing an 11-8 lead with less than three
minutes remaining in the game. Rutgers leveled its 2012 season
record at 1-1 overall with the win, while Air Force started its
campaign 0-1.
"It was a great team effort today,” Brecht said. “Rudy
(Butler) was big in the first quarter, making some big saves early
as we got settled into the flow of the game. He made a couple of
great saves with less than two minutes left to earn the win.
I give a lot of credit to the special teams and the man-up
unit. Going 4-for-4 on extra-man opportunities in a one-goal
game was huge today, as we needed each and every one of those four
goals.”
RU was led by sophomore A Nick DePaolera (Kinnelon, N.J.), who
scored a career-high five points (two goals, three assists). Senior
A Kevin Hover (Belle Mead, N.J.), redshirt sophomore A Scott
Klimchak (Clark, N.J.) and senior M Will Mangan (Maplewood, N.J.)
all recorded three points in the victory. Klimchak and Mangan
scored three goals each, while Hover netted one goal and dished two
assists.
With the score tied at 8-8 with 10:38 remaining in the contest, the
Scarlet Knights crucially scored three-straight goals to distance
themselves from the Falcons. At the 9:21 mark, Klimchak put RU up
9-8 on an extra-man opportunity. Rutgers scored again on a goal
from DePaolera with 7:15 on the clock. Sophomore D Nick Contino
(Branchburg, N.J.) assisted on the play. The Scarlet Knights got
their 11th and final point from Klimchak on an assist from
DePaolera with 2:33 left in the game.
Freshman M Brian Goss (Arlington Heights, Ill.) continued his
scoring streak to start his Rutgers career with an unassisted goal
at the 8:46 mark in the second period to give RU the lead that it
never surrendered. Senior M Michael Diehl (Flemington, N.J.) scored
on an earlier feed from Goss with 10:59 on the clock. Goss also
scored a goal and an assist against second-ranked Duke on Feb. 11
to start the season.
Rutgers netted one goal in the initial period on an unassisted
attempt by Mangan at the 13:04 mark. The Falcons recorded two goals
to open the game, with the second at 11:24 to hold its only lead of
the contest.
The Scarlet Knights held a 5-4 advantage over Air Force at the half
with additional goals coming from the scoring and assisting
combination of Hover and DePaolera. Hover notched the first at the
5:31 mark, while DePaolera added RU’s fifth goal with 1:38
left in the half.
Junior G Rudy Butler (Belle Mead, N.J.) played all 60 minutes,
making 10 saves while facing 38 total shots from the Falcons.
Freshman D Blake Burkhart continued primary faceoff duties, winning
13-of-19 opportunities.
Redshirt freshman D Andrew Parrilla (Wyckoff, N.J.) led the squad
in ground balls, scooping five. Contino caused a team-leading three
Air Force turnovers in the contest. Freshman M Joseph Nardella
(Cazenovia, N.Y.) scooped three ground balls and also caused two
turnovers.
