Rutgers Men's Lacrosse Plays Host to UMBC on Sunday
Feb 24 | Men's Lacrosse
GAME 4 - RUTGERS (2-1, 0-0 BIG EAST) vs. UMBC (0-1, 0-0 AEC)
Sunday | Feb. 23 | 12 Noon | RU Turf Field | Piscataway, N.J.
FACING OFF - SCARLET KNIGHTS VS. RETRIEVERS
The Rutgers men's lacrosse team is set for its home opener against UMBC at the RU Turf Field on Sunday, Feb. 26 at 12 p.m. The Scarlet Knights return to Piscataway, N.J., after going 2-1 in their initial three games on the road. The Retrievers (0-1) started their 2012 campaign by falling to Robert Morris by a score of 10-8 on Feb. 18. The RU-UMBC game at the RU Turf Field marks the first home contest of first-year head coach Brian Brecht's tenure "On the Banks".
Live Stats:
LAST TIME OUT - Rutgers 9, WAGNER 5
The Rutgers men's lacrosse team (2-1) turned away Wagner at Wagner College Stadium on Feb. 21, defeating the Seahawks by a score of 9-5. RU dominated on both the offensive and defensive ends of the field, firing 42 shots and allowing only 14. The Scarlet Knights were led by the strong performance of senior co-captain M Will Mangan (Maplewood, N.J.), who scored five points on three goals and two assists. Senior M Michael Diehl (Flemington, N.J.) and freshman M Brian Goss (Arlington Heights, Ill.) added two-goal outings of their own to pace the RU offense. Freshman M Joseph Nardella (Cazenovia, N.Y.) scooped a game-high seven ground balls while winning 12-of-18 faceoff opportunities. Junior G Rudy Butler (Belle Mead, N.J.) played all 60 minutes in goal, making six saves.
Scouting the UMBC RETRIVERS
UMBC is led by Don Zimmerman, who is in his 19th year with the Retrievers. The coaching veteran has compiled a 135-115 record at UMBC and sports a 208-130 mark in his overall career (26 seasons). Zimmerman previously won NCAA Championships at Johns Hopkins in 1984, 1985 and 1987. The 1987 event was hosted by Rutgers.
The Retrievers return their leading point-getter from 2011 in midfielder Rob Grimm (Sr.), who totaled 35 points last season. Attackman Scott Jones (Jr.) returns after netting a team-best 23 goals a year ago.
UMBC dropped its opening game of the 2012 season to Robert Morris by a score of 10-8 on Feb. 18. The Retrievers were led in scoring by Jones who notched two goals and one assist. In between the pipes, goalie Adam Cohen made 10 saves, but the five goals he allowed in the third period proved to be costly.
SCARLET KNIGHTS HAVE TAKEN CARE OF UMBC
Rutgers holds a 9-6 all-time record against UMBC, with the series dating back to 1980 when RU took a 12-10 result over the Retrievers. RU won the latest meeting at UMBC last season by a score of 12-5.
Date Team Score
March 18, 1980 UMBC W, 12-10
April 24, 1981 UMBC W, 14-12
March 20, 1982 UMBC W, 16-9
March 23, 1985 UMBC W, 10-8
March 22, 1986 UMBC W, 13-8
March 4, 1995 UMBC L, 9-6
March 3, 1996 at UMBC L, 17-5
April 1, 2000 at UMBC L, 11-3
March 31, 2001 UMBC W, 10-7
March 30, 2002 at UMBC L, 10-6
March 29, 2003 UMBC W, 12-11 (OT)
Feb. 24, 2008 UMBC W, 13-4
Feb. 21, 2009 at UMBC L, 17-10
Feb. 28, 2010 UMBC L, 6-5
Feb. 26, 2011 at UMBC W, 12-5
WATCH OUT FOR MANGAN
Senior co-captain M Will Mangan (Maplewood, N.J.) has made his mark for Rutgers to start the 2012 campaign. Through three games, Mangan leads the Scarlet Knights with 11 points coming from a team-best eight goals and three assists. His place as a focal point of the RU offense is cemented by his team-leading 22 shots taken. Mangan has consistently shown his nose for the action by scooping nine ground balls, which is tied for second-best on the squad.
Depaolera's career day caged the falcons
Sophomore A Nick DePaolera (Kinnelon, N.J.) was a man on a mission against Air Force on Feb. 19. In just his second start ever, DePaolera scored a career-high five points (two goals, three assists) to help RU bring down Air Force, 11-10.
TRUE FRESHMAN MAKES IMPACT
Rutgers' starting lineup for the opening three games of the season has been bolstered by the presence of freshman M Brian Goss (Arlington Heights, Ill.). The first-year competitor for RU scored a goal and assisted another in his debut at Duke (Feb. 11) and again against Air Force (Feb. 19). Goss' latest contribution was a career-high three-point effort at Wagner (Feb. 21) with two goals and one assist.
Amongst his teammates, Goss is in good company for true freshmen who started a season opener. Sophomore D Nicholas Contino (Branchburg, N.J.) started the 2011 opener vs. Wagner. Junior G Rudy Butler (Belle Mead, N.J.) got the starting nod to begin the season at Wagner in 2010. Seniors Michael Diehl (Flemington, N.J.), Kevin Hover (Belle Mead, N.J.) and Jacob Fradkin (Brooklandville, Md.) started vs. Villanova to kick off 2009.
FANTASTIC FOUR
RU seniors Jacob Fradkin (Owings Mills, Md.), Will Mangan (Maplewood, N.J.), Zachary Zenda (Monmouth Jct., N.J.) and Nicholas Zerrillo (Brewerton, N.Y.) head up the Scarlet Knights' leadership efforts on the field as team co-captains. Fradkin has started 42 games in his career. The defenseman caused 19 turnovers last season. Mangan, a midfielder, started all 15 games in 2011, scoring 23 points (13 goals, 10 assists). Zenda saw action in 14 games for RU a year ago. The midfielder caused seven turnovers and scooped four ground balls. Zerrillo, a midfielder, scored seven points (6 goals, 1 assist) in 13 appearances for the Scarlet Knights in 2011.
