Rutgers men's lacrosse resists late Stony Brook run to pick up road victory
The Rutgers men’s lacrosse team picked up a road victory against Stony Brook on Saturday by a score of 16-12. The Seawolves gave the Scarlet Knights a late run for their money, but ultimately, No. 14 Rutgers held on for the victory and improved to a 2-0 record.
The Knights dominated this game in the early stages. It took some time before either team got on the board, but it was Shane Knobloch with 6:39 to go in the first quarter who got the scoring started.
Stony Brook answered quickly, but Rutgers then went on a 6-goal run.
The run began with Ross Scott towards the end of the first quarter and went until the 10-minute mark in the second quarter when the Seawolves finally found the back of the net for their second score.
Five different Knights scored throughout the run, with Scott scoring twice and Colin Kurdyla, Tanyr Krummenacher, Jack Aimone and Nick Teresky each scoring as well. Kurdyla’s goal was the first of his collegiate career and Krummenacher’s was his first with Rutgers.
The Knights’ lead got as large as 7 goals when Knobloch made it 9-2 with 7:12 to go in the opening half. Stony Brook followed with a much-needed pair of scores from Justin Bonacci to make it a 9-4 score at the half.
The second half was a bit more interesting as each team scored 5 goals in the third quarter and the Seawolves outscored Rutgers in the fourth.
The Knights were able to get back to a 7-goal lead at 13-6 with 6:21 to go in the third quarter, but Stony Brook went on a threatening run from there and brought itself all the way back to just a 14-12 deficit with about eight minutes left in the game. The Seawolves’ Nick Dupuis scored twice during their 6-1 scoring run.
Now leading by just 2 goals with over eight minutes to play, Rutgers was in a similar situation as last week against a feisty Lehigh team. The Knights desperately needed Cardin Stoller to make some saves or for their star attackers to show some offensive initiative.
What Rutgers needed is what it got. Stoller recorded four saves over the final eight minutes while Aimone and John Sidorski each tallied a goal, with Scott assisting Sidorski. The Knights fended off the late Stony Brook run and secured the victory.
Aimone led in scoring for Rutgers with 4 goals, putting his team-leading season total through two games at 7. Scott put on a show as he notched 6 points on the day with 3 goals and three assists. Krummenacher secured a hat trick as well, while Knobloch scored twice. Stoller saved nine shots.
The Knights will now host No. 6 Army next Saturday at SHI Stadium. Faceoff is scheduled for 1 p.m. and the game will be broadcast on Big Ten Plus.