Rutgers lacrosse gets 1st Big Ten win behind Stoller's stellar performance
The Rutgers men’s lacrosse team went on the road to Ann Arbor and picked up its first Big Ten win of the season against No. 16 Michigan 9-7. The Scarlet Knights jumped out to a big halftime lead and never let up, spoiling the Wolverines' senior night and winning the ninth in a row of the series.
Rutgers got on the board early with a quick score from Dante Kulas about a minute and a half into the game. Neither team scored for some time until Michigan made it 1-1 at the 6:52 mark in the first.
Ross Scott put the Knights back on top, but the Wolverines answered quickly. At 2-2, it was the closest Michigan would be for some time.
Scott tacked onto his tally and recorded a first-quarter hat trick, scoring 2 goals in the final minute.
Shane Knobloch and Jack Aimone added goals in the second quarter while the Rutgers defense and goalkeeper Cardin Stoller shut down the Wolverines.
Michigan did not score through the entire second quarter, and the Knights led 6-2 at halftime. Stoller had 10 saves in the opening half.
The second half saw more of a push from the Wolverines as they outscored Rutgers 3-2 in the third quarter. John Morgan scored twice in the quarter for Michigan and once more in the fourth to give himself a hat trick.
The Knights saw their lead start to fade, leading just 8-7 with under 10 minutes to go. When Rutgers needed it most, though, Aimone scored to give the Knights a 2-goal cushion.
With under five minutes to play, the Wolverines had the momentum over Rutgers, recording 12 shots on goal to the latter’s seven across the second half. The Knights were grasping onto their lead thanks to yet another strong showing from Stoller, one of the Big Ten’s top freshmen. Stoller had 17 saves and a 70.8 save percentage with four minutes to go.
Stoller closed the game just as strongly as he had been the rest of the way, finishing with 19 saves and a 73.1% save percentage. The 19 saves tied his career high.
Rutgers' star offensive trio led the way on the other end, with Scott scoring 3 goals while Aimone and Knobloch had 2 apiece.
The Knights will now go against Maryland on Saturday in what will be an uphill battle.
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