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Sixth-seeded Rutgers Men’s Lacrosse is in unfamiliar territory. The Scarlet Knights have never been to the Final Four of the NCAA Tournament until this season as they take on seventh-seeded Cornell in the national semifinals at noon on Saturday at Rentschler Field in East Hartford, CT.
Head coach Brian Brecht’s crew is the first men’s team to reach a Final Four since men’s soccer did it in 1994. Women’s soccer made the semifinals this past fall.
Cornell, which is ranked 10th in the country in the most recent Inside Lacrosse poll, has won the NCAA Tournament three times, been to 14 Final Fours, and 22 quarterfinals in 29 total appearances. The Big Red also have three pre-NCAA era championships.
“Cornell certainly has won national championships. They've been in Final Fours before,” Brecht said on a call on Tuesday morning. “I think anytime you're playing in the month of May, there's going to be a big time game atmosphere and preparation and competition on the field. We're excited for the opportunity that our guys have earned and certainly going to be businesses as usual. The way we prepare will be the same, and we're excited for the challenge and certainly grateful for the opportunity.”
The matchup in the matchup is Rutgers senior goalie Colin Kirst going up against Cornell sophomore attackman, CJ Kirst. Colin Kirst has the 15th-best save percentage in the country overall at .548 and the fourth-most saves with 221 (first among those teams left playing).
CJ Kirst is second on Cornell with 50 goals. He posted seven goals in the first round of the NCAA Tournament against Ohio State.
This won’t be the first time Kirst brothers have met up in the tournament though. Rutgers and Colin Kirst faced Lehigh and Cole Kirst in last year’s opening round. Rutgers won that game. Cole Kirst didn’t score on eight shots while Colin made 17 saves.
“Colin has been a professional in every sense of the word,” Brecht told TKR. “He's laser focused, he prepares the right way, and he’s diligent in the classroom and on the field. We've seen this movie before, so we've been there, done that. Last year, same situation with Colin going against his brother, who's at Lehigh.
"Now this year fast forward Colin is going against his brother at Cornell. So I think it's business as usual this week in our preparation, and I know his preparation stays the same as well. I think it's great for the media and college lacrosse, but I think on game day it's just just another 60-minute game for him and for us.”
On the other side of the bracket, fifth-seeded Princeton is taking on top-seeded Maryland. With Rutgers and Princeton both left, there will be a big New Jersey flavor at the Final Four. Nineteen players are from the Garden State on the Rutgers roster, and while there’s only three on Princeton, it’s still another New Jersey institution.
“I think it's great for New Jersey. The youth and high school level of participation numbers have been going through the roof over the last five-10 years. Lacrosse is at its highest it's been,” Brecht said. “Having the State University of New Jersey, Rutgers, playing in the Final Four for the first time, I think you see with our attendance on game day with our Fans.
"Our alumni have been great. The local alumni that come back and all the high school players come back for our regular season Big Ten games and then the first round of the NCAA Tournament having 5,000-plus on campus to see a NCAA Tournament game. Certainly excited for the sport of lacrosse in New Jersey and obviously having two teams from the state of New Jersey in the Final Four, I think it just gets the excitement and the juices flowing even more for the young players that continue having fun playing the game that they love.”
Speaking of those alums, Brecht was asked what are some of the more satisfying things from his team’s run. He took it in the direction of acknowledging players from the past who helped build the Scarlet Knights into the contender it is now.
“I don't know if there's one satisfying part. I think there's a lot of people that you feel very thankful to and for with this journey in the season this year,” Brecht said. “Certainly the players on the team who chose Rutgers in the recruiting process before we got to this moment, all the guys that were part of the tournament last year going to the quarterfinals and having an NCAA win for the first time in a long time. And then obviously our proud alumni from the Joe Nardella's, the Scott Beida's, the Jules Heningburg, the Rexrode's, the Mazzone's and more all through the journey over the last 10-11 years.
"Certainly the older alumni, Rutgers has a great tradition with coach Hayes and the success they've had in the 70s, 80s, and 90s. So, to be able to put on that jersey and represent Rutgers lacrosse and our Rutgers lacrosse family and all our alumni I think is pretty special. I think our guys in the locker room right now really feel the support on game day. Our home game atmosphere is outstanding and wouldn't trade it for the world. To see us we'll go over to Hofstra and this week up in Connecticut, looking forward to having all of the Rutgers family join us for a great weekend.”
Rutgers has used the portal well in recent seasons bringing it guys like Colin Kirst, Brain Cameron, Mitch Bartolo, Ronan Jacoby and more, but in the ever-changing college sports landscape that features student-athletes departing the program, Rutgers has kept on to its top talent, too.
“Our grad transfers get a lot of fanfare and they've been a big part of our success this year, but our core players as you stated, Ryan Gallagher, Ethan Rall, Bobby Russo, Kamish, Kirst being back for another year and then you throw in the rope guys, (Zackary Franckowiak), Tommy Coyne, and Cole Daniger, (have been huge),” Brecht said. “Ross Scott certainly made a name for himself last year and he's continued in that direction of being a real leader for us on and off the field. So we're really thankful for all the guys that had another year of eligibility through COVID.
"Last year, the experience they had going to the quarterfinals, coming back and going to graduate school at Rutgers this year and helping us get to where we are right now which is playing for a national championship and going up to East Hartford, Connecticut this weekend.”
Stay tuned for more this week as TKR previews Championship Weekend.
Follow Chris Nalwasky on Twitter @ChrisNalwasky.
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