Rutgers Men's Lacrosse's historic season comes to a close
The Rutgers men's lacrosse team's NCAA Tournament run finally came to an end on Saturday as the No. 6-seeded Scarlet Knights fell to the No. 7 seed Cornell, 17-10, in the Final Four in East Hartford, CT.
The Scarlet Knights opened the game with a swift 1-0 lead on a goal by Mitch Bartolo, but gave that away rather quickly as the Big Red would go on a big run after that leading by a score of 8-3 at halftime.
After Ryan Gallagher made it 8-4 for the game's first goal in the third quarter after a lengthy weather delay, Cornell went on a 6-0 run to go up by 10 at 14-4 and put the game out of reach.
Rutgers outscored Cornell 5-3 in the fourth quarter including the game's final three goals, but the margin was too big.
“I’m very thankful for our senior leadership, our captains," Rutgers head coach Brian Brecht said. "That’s been great all year and allowed us to have a program record 15 wins and make the first Final Four in program history. A lot of credit to them for what they’ve done on and off the field. I’m very proud of what they’ve accomplished this year and over the course of their careers.”
The Scarlet Knights wound up out-shooting the Big Red, 45-37, but Cornell made those shots count, seeing 30 go on goal. Cornell also had more ground balls (45-36) and won more faceoffs (17-14).
CJ Kirst scored three goals for Cornell against his brother, Rutgers goalie Colin Kirst, who made 13 saves. John Piatelli netted five goals as well while Michael Long scored four times.
For Rutgers, Bartolo and Brian Camerson both scored two goals while Ross Scott, Ronan Jacoby, Gallagher, Dante Kulas, Eric Civetti, and Brennan Kamish all scored once. Scott and Gallagher each had two assists.
Scott's 50 goals on the season tied the single-season mark for Rutgers.
“I’m going to remember this year as the best year of my life," Gallagher said. "We’ve accomplished a lot. In moments like this, you can forget what you’ve accomplished over the whole season. I think we’ve set a new bar for the program that our team can get back to this weekend again. I’m thankful to be a part of it.”
| TEAM | FIRST QUARTER | SECOND QUARTER | THIRD QUARTER | FOURTH QUARTER | FINAL |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
RUTGERS |
1 |
2 |
2 |
5 |
10 |
|
CORNELL |
3 |
5 |
6 |
3 |
17 |
Rutgers ended the season with its most wins ever at 15-4 and made the national semifinals for the time in program history. Rutgers defeated No. 14 Harvard and No. 3 Penn in the first two rounds to advance to the Final Four.
The Scarlet Knights tallied six ranked wins on the year including the highest ranked win in team history when they topped Penn. Rutgers is 12-7 over the last two seasons against ranked foes. The last men's team to make a Final Four was men's soccer in 1994.
Rutgers' only losses came to teams who made the Final Four in Maryland (twice), Cornell, and Princeton.
Kirst, Ethan Rall, and Kamish were all Second Team All-Americans and Scott made Third Team All-America. Jaryd Jean-Felix, Jacoby, and Shane Knobloch were honored as All-Americans as well.
“The locker room, this culture is so strong," Kirst said. "The support in this program is unmatched. It’s such a passionate and caring program, from the guys in the program to the alumni. That love for Rutgers lacrosse doesn’t change. That’s something each and every one of us try and bottle up and take each day.”
RUTGERS ALL-TIME NCAA TOURNAMENT APPEARANCES
1972: No. 8 Rutgers lost at No. 1 Maryland in the Quarterfinals, 9-3 (8-Team Field)
1974: No. 8 Rutgers lost at No. 1 Maryland in the Quarterfinals, 12-6 (8-Team Field)
1975: No. 8 Rutgers lost at No. 1 Cornell in the Quarterfinals, 18-5 (8-Team Field)
1984: No. 7 Rutgers lost at No. 2 Syracuse in the Quarterfinals, 8-7 (OT) (8-Team Field)
1986: No. 7 Rutgers WINS, hosting C.W. Post in the First Round, 13-8 (10-Team Field)
No. 7 Rutgers lost at No. 2 Syracuse in the Quarterfinals, 17-5
1990: unseeded Rutgers WINS at No. 6 Virginia, 7-6 in the First Round (12-Team Field)
Rutgers lost at No. 3 Loyola, 19-10 in the Quarterfinals
1991: unseeded Rutgers lost at No. 7 Maryland, 13-7 in the First Round (12-Team Field)
2003: No. 7 Rutgers lost, hosting Georgetown, 9-6 in the First Round (16-Team Field)
2004: unseeded Rutgers lost at No. 6 Princeton, 12-4 in the First Round (16-Team Field)
2021: unseeded Rutgers WINS vs. No. 8 Lehigh, 12-5 in the First Round (18-Team Field)
Rutgers lost vs. No. 1 UNC in the Quarterfinals, 12-11 in the Quarterfinals (OT)
2022: No. 6 seed Rutgers WINS hosting Harvard, 19-9 in the First Round (18-Team Field)
No. 6 seed Rutgers WINS vs. No. 3 Penn, 11-9, in the Quarterfinals
No. 6 seed Rutgers WINS vs. No. 3 Penn, 11-9, in the Quarterfinals
No. 6 seed Rutgers lost vs. No. 7 Cornell, 17-10, in the Semifinals
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