Sources: Rutgers LAX to add a few high profile transfers
Brian Brecht has hit the transfer market aggressively, and sources have confirmed that the Rutgers men's lacrosse team has added/will add a couple of strong transfers to the roster.
According to sources, the Scarlet Knights are welcoming/are set to welcome in midfielder Connor Kirst from Villanova, goalie Colin Kirst from Lehigh, midfielders Andrew and Justin Kim from Syracuse, midfielder Brian Ward from Yale, and face-off man Jonathan Dugenio from St. John's.
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Connor Kirst, a Delbarton (Morristown, N.J.) product, will join Rutgers as a fifth-year graduate student in 2021 while Colin Kirst will be a senior. The Kirst news was first reported by Inside Lacrosse. Connor was a First Team All-American for the shortened 2020 season as he had 17 goals and seven assists in seven games. At Villanova, he played in all 52 games with 84 goals, 42 assists, and 101 ground balls.
Younger brother Colin Kirst made 11 appearances in the cage for Lehigh and was an All-American at Seton Hall Prep (West Orange, N.J.). The Kirst's dad, Kyle, played lacrosse as a goalie at Rutgers from 1988-1990. He passed away in 2015 and was inducted into the NJ Lacrosse Hall of Fame in 2016.
Ward is a grad transfer as well and has experience playing on the big stage as he scooped up two ground balls in the national championship in 2019 against Virginia. In four games this past season he had four ground balls. Ward, who hails from Mount Lebanon, Pa., was a two-time U.S. Lacrosse All-American and a Brine National All-American. He had 168 career goals and 70 assists for a total of 238 points. Yale won the NCAA title in 2018.
Twins Andrew and Justin Kim are both sophomores eligibility wise and they played their high school lacrosse at Don Bosco Prep in Ramsey, N.J. Andrew tallied 61 goals and 22 assists for the Ironmen while Justin had 62 goals and 34 assists. Justin scored 27 goals and 20 assists as a senior. Both played in one game in 2020 for Syracuse with Andrew scoring against Binghamton.
Dugenio, who is from Bridgewater, N.J., is expected to be a much-needed addition to the X for the Scarlet Knights. His freshman 2020 campaign was cut short as was everybody's, but he was named a College Crosse Freshman Third-Team All-American as he was 113 faceoffs in seven contests. His 113 wins led all freshman and ranked second overall in the country. He won 25-of-31 attempts and scored his only goal in his debut against Rutgers at SHI Stadium on Feb. 9. His 25 wins at the X were the most recorded by a St. John's player since 2016.
Rutgers plans to not announce anything officially until the fall semester starts.
The Scarlet Knights went 2-4 in 2020, winning the first games against Quinnipiac and St. John's before going on a four-game losing streak with three coming against ranked foes. They averaged 12.5 goals per game which ranked 35th in the country and they also finished 68th in groundballs per game with 26.0 and 71st in face-off win percentage at 33.1. The additions of the aforementioned transfers as well as those who are returning to the program such as Kieran Mullins, Adam Charalambides, Ryan Gallagher, and the incoming recruiting class should help Rutgers immensely in 2021.
Follow Chris Nalwasky on Twitter @ChrisWasky.
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