Saturday, March 14
Piscataway, N.J.
12:00 PM
Rutgers University
vs
Bellarmine University
No. 19 Men’s Lacrosse Hosts Bellarmine Saturday
Mar 11 | Men's Lacrosse
LaCROSSe Out Cancer Game
PISCATAWAY, N.J. – No. 19 Rutgers men's lacrosse has its non-conference finale on Saturday, hosting Bellarmine at noon at SHI Stadium on March 14. The game will be RU's annual LaCROSSe Out Cancer Game, with RU raising funders to benefit research for Pediatric Cancer Research. You can support the cause by visiting here.
The game will be live streamed on B1G+. Dom Savino and Rick Mercurio will be on the call.
The Scarlet Knights are 6-2 overall, looking to close out non-conference play with a 7-2 record. With a victory, RU can match the win total in each of the last two seasons. It would be their best nine-game record to start a season since 2023, when they were also 7-2.
RU was dominant in their last outing, earning a 19-4 road win at St. John's on Tuesday in the final midweek game of the season. It was their 11th straight win over St. John's, improving to 26-7 all-time in the series. Rutgers has won the past five games by a combined margin of 100-37. Rutgers has scored at least 19 goals in each of the past four games against St. John's and six of the past nine.
In the game, Colin Kurdyla had four goals and seven assists, and new career-high for him in assists and points (11). Kurdyla's 11 points was the most for any RU player since 1993. It tied for the fourth-most points in a single game, and the seven assists was tied for the sixth-most all-time. It was the most assists in a game for a RU player since 1997. Kurdyla surpassed 100 career points in the game.
Haydn Sommer had the first five-goal game for a RU player since 2022, when Ross Scott had his eight-goal outburst in the NCAA Tournament. Sommer had a career-high six points with five goals and an assist.
JJ Aiello returned to game action with a goal for RU in the contest. Aiello, who was named to the Big Ten All-Freshman Team last season, saw brief game action in the season opener but had not played in the prior six games.
Rutgers' man-down defense in seventh nationally (84.6%). RU has the most saves per game in the Big Ten (11.38). Cardin Stoller leads the Big Ten with 10.38 saves per game.
Colin Kurdyla leads the Big Ten with 2.13 assists per game and 4.50 points per game. After his 11-point outburst, his 36 points are six more than second place in the league. His 17 assists lead the Big Ten and his 19 goals rank second. He also has taken 67 shots, most in the league by 15.
Bellarmine, who was 28-23 over the previous three seasons, has opened this season with a 4-5 record. Their four wins have come over Mercyhurst, Cleveland State, Detroit Mercy and St. Bonaventure. Their five losses include three ranked foes in then-No. 11 Duke, No. 10 Ohio State, No. 7 Notre Dame, as well as the past two games against LIU and Robert Morris. The wins over Mercyhurst and Detroit Mercy both came on the win. On the year, the Knights have been outscored 129-99, with opponents averaging 47 shots per game. Duke scored 23 and Notre Dame scored 29.
John Alie leads the team with 43 points (27 goals, 16 assists). He is the program's all-time leading goal scorer with 1249 n his career, and second on the career points list with 180. After five goals last game against Robert Morris, he has scored three or more goals six times this season after a 52-goal season last year.
Ezra Moore (16 goals, 22 assists) is ninth nationally at 2.44 assists per game. Joe Alie has 21 goals.
Goalkeeper Nolan Hudnut has posted 13.89 saves per game, fifth nationally. He is third in program history with 337 career saves, as just a two-year starter as a sophomore.
With five different players taking at least nine faceoffs this season, Bellarmine is at a 37.3% winning percentage as a team, 69th nationally.
This will be the first meeting between the two programs, who have never played previously. Bellarmine University, located in Louisville, previously competed in Division II and completed a full transition to Division I in 2020-21. The lacrosse program specifically has been competing at the Division I level since 2005 as an independent member of various conferences, including the Great Western Lacrosse League and the ECAC prior to the Atlantic Sun.
A previous connection between these two programs was former Rutgers assistant coach Jim Mitchell. After two seasons as RU's defensive coordinator, in 2018, Mitchell left RU to become the head coach of Bellarmine, where he served for one season, and now works as an assistant coach at Princeton.
The game will be followed by the start of Big Ten play for RU. The Scarlet Knights are home for their first two Big Ten games of the season. Rutgers starts off Big Ten play by hosting No. 8 Ohio State, currently holding a 6-1 record, at SHI Stadium on Saturday, March 21.
The game will be live streamed on B1G+. Dom Savino and Rick Mercurio will be on the call.
| About Rutgers |
The Scarlet Knights are 6-2 overall, looking to close out non-conference play with a 7-2 record. With a victory, RU can match the win total in each of the last two seasons. It would be their best nine-game record to start a season since 2023, when they were also 7-2.
RU was dominant in their last outing, earning a 19-4 road win at St. John's on Tuesday in the final midweek game of the season. It was their 11th straight win over St. John's, improving to 26-7 all-time in the series. Rutgers has won the past five games by a combined margin of 100-37. Rutgers has scored at least 19 goals in each of the past four games against St. John's and six of the past nine.
In the game, Colin Kurdyla had four goals and seven assists, and new career-high for him in assists and points (11). Kurdyla's 11 points was the most for any RU player since 1993. It tied for the fourth-most points in a single game, and the seven assists was tied for the sixth-most all-time. It was the most assists in a game for a RU player since 1997. Kurdyla surpassed 100 career points in the game.
Haydn Sommer had the first five-goal game for a RU player since 2022, when Ross Scott had his eight-goal outburst in the NCAA Tournament. Sommer had a career-high six points with five goals and an assist.
JJ Aiello returned to game action with a goal for RU in the contest. Aiello, who was named to the Big Ten All-Freshman Team last season, saw brief game action in the season opener but had not played in the prior six games.
Rutgers' man-down defense in seventh nationally (84.6%). RU has the most saves per game in the Big Ten (11.38). Cardin Stoller leads the Big Ten with 10.38 saves per game.
Colin Kurdyla leads the Big Ten with 2.13 assists per game and 4.50 points per game. After his 11-point outburst, his 36 points are six more than second place in the league. His 17 assists lead the Big Ten and his 19 goals rank second. He also has taken 67 shots, most in the league by 15.
| About Bellarmine |
Bellarmine, who was 28-23 over the previous three seasons, has opened this season with a 4-5 record. Their four wins have come over Mercyhurst, Cleveland State, Detroit Mercy and St. Bonaventure. Their five losses include three ranked foes in then-No. 11 Duke, No. 10 Ohio State, No. 7 Notre Dame, as well as the past two games against LIU and Robert Morris. The wins over Mercyhurst and Detroit Mercy both came on the win. On the year, the Knights have been outscored 129-99, with opponents averaging 47 shots per game. Duke scored 23 and Notre Dame scored 29.
John Alie leads the team with 43 points (27 goals, 16 assists). He is the program's all-time leading goal scorer with 1249 n his career, and second on the career points list with 180. After five goals last game against Robert Morris, he has scored three or more goals six times this season after a 52-goal season last year.
Ezra Moore (16 goals, 22 assists) is ninth nationally at 2.44 assists per game. Joe Alie has 21 goals.
Goalkeeper Nolan Hudnut has posted 13.89 saves per game, fifth nationally. He is third in program history with 337 career saves, as just a two-year starter as a sophomore.
With five different players taking at least nine faceoffs this season, Bellarmine is at a 37.3% winning percentage as a team, 69th nationally.
This will be the first meeting between the two programs, who have never played previously. Bellarmine University, located in Louisville, previously competed in Division II and completed a full transition to Division I in 2020-21. The lacrosse program specifically has been competing at the Division I level since 2005 as an independent member of various conferences, including the Great Western Lacrosse League and the ECAC prior to the Atlantic Sun.
A previous connection between these two programs was former Rutgers assistant coach Jim Mitchell. After two seasons as RU's defensive coordinator, in 2018, Mitchell left RU to become the head coach of Bellarmine, where he served for one season, and now works as an assistant coach at Princeton.
| Up Next |
The game will be followed by the start of Big Ten play for RU. The Scarlet Knights are home for their first two Big Ten games of the season. Rutgers starts off Big Ten play by hosting No. 8 Ohio State, currently holding a 6-1 record, at SHI Stadium on Saturday, March 21.
Players Mentioned
Attack
/ Men's Lacrosse
Midfield
/ Men's Lacrosse
Goalkeeper
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