Rutgers Scarlet Knights men's lacrosse

The Rutgers Scarlet Knights men's lacrosse team represents Rutgers University main campus in National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I college lacrosse. The program first started at the varsity level in 1887. The coach is currently Brian Brecht, who is in his eighth year at that position and who joined Rutgers after previously coaching at Siena College. The team plays its home games at SHI Stadium. On July 1, 2014, Rutgers joined the Big Ten Conference in all sports.[2]

Rutgers Scarlet Knights men's lacrosse
Founded1887
UniversityRutgers University
Head coachBrian Brecht (since 2012 season)
StadiumSHI Stadium
(capacity: 52,454)
LocationNew Brunswick, New Jersey
ConferenceBig Ten Conference
NicknameScarlet Knights
ColorsScarlet[1]
 
Pre-NCAA era championships
(2) – 1928 USILA Co-Champions,
1955 USILA Division II co-champions Laurie Cox Trophy
NCAA Tournament Final Fours
(1) – 2022
NCAA Tournament Quarterfinals
(8) – 1972, 1974, 1975, 1984, 1986, 1990, 2021, 2022
NCAA Tournament appearances
(11) – 1972, 1974, 1975, 1984, 1986, 1990, 1991, 2003, 2004, 2021, 2022

History

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Rutgers plays Army in 2010

Rutgers began playing lacrosse in 1887. The team lasted 3 years, folding in 1889 after it 2–1 season. The program was re-instated in 1920 due in part to the efforts of Harland W. “Tots” Meistrell. In 1926 Fred Fitch took over the program and began a period of national prominence. The team joined the USILA and in 1928 was awarded one of the association's gold medals as an outstanding team, along with three other teams that also shared the championship (Johns Hopkins, Maryland, and Navy). In 1932 the Rutgers team, led by “the best attack pair in the country” George Latimer and Frenchy Julien participated in the U.S. Olympic team tryouts. During Fitch's 22 seasons the team posted a record of 106–71–8. Al Twitchell took over the reins in 1950 with the retirement of Fitch. In 1955 he guided the team to a co-national championship of the USILA's Laurie Cox (Class B[3]) Division.[4]

Rutgers plays Princeton for the Meistrell Cup in honor of Harland (Tots) Meistrell who in addition to re-instating the lacrosse program at Rutgers, he also restarted the dormant lacrosse program at Princeton in 1921. Rutgers also plays Penn State for the Friendship Cup which is a symbol of the friendship of four friends from Sewanhaka High School on Long Island who went off to college splitting two ways; one pair attending Penn State, and the other heading off to Rutgers.

Rutgers appeared in its first NCAA tournament in 1972. In the 1986 tournament, Rutgers defeated C.W. Post, 13–8, in the first round, before falling 5–17 to Syracuse in the quarterfinals. The Scarlet Knights most recent NCAA tournament victory came in the 2021 NCAA Division I Men's Lacrosse Championship,[5] as they defeated Lehigh by a score of 12–5, before losing 11–12 in the quarterfinals to North Carolina. It was the Scarlet Knight's first NCAA tournament victory in 31 years. The following season, the Scarlet Knights made the Final Four for the first time with an 11-9 quarterfinal victory over Penn.[6]

Since its inception in 1887, the Scarlet Knights have won 560 games and one national Class B championship, as well as producing 197 All-Americans and 10 lacrosse hall of famers.[4]

Season Results

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The following is a list of Rutgers's results by season as an NCAA Division I program:

Season Coach Overall Conference Standing Postseason
Bob Naso (Independent) (1962–1974)
1971 Bob Naso 6–6
1972 Bob Naso 9–3 NCAA Division I Quarterfinals
1973 Bob Naso 9–4
1974 Bob Naso 8–5 NCAA Division I Quarterfinals
Bob Naso: 95–60–1 (.612)
Tom Hayes (Independent) (1975–1999)
1975 Tom Hayes 7–6 NCAA Division I Quarterfinals
1976 Tom Hayes 4–6
1977 Tom Hayes 7–5
1978 Tom Hayes 9–4
1979 Tom Hayes 8–4
1980 Tom Hayes 7–5
1981 Tom Hayes 7–6
1982 Tom Hayes 10–2
1983 Tom Hayes 9–5
1984 Tom Hayes 8–5 NCAA Division I Quarterfinals
1985 Tom Hayes 7–6
1986 Tom Hayes 11–4 NCAA Division I Quarterfinals
1987 Tom Hayes 8–5
1988 Tom Hayes 8–5
1989 Tom Hayes 9–5
1990 Tom Hayes 10–5 NCAA Division I Quarterfinals
1991 Tom Hayes 7–6 NCAA Division I First Round
1992 Tom Hayes 6–8
1993 Tom Hayes 8–5
1994 Tom Hayes 7–9
1995 Tom Hayes 9–6
1996 Tom Hayes 5–9
1997 Tom Hayes 8–7
1998 Tom Hayes 8–7
1999 Tom Hayes 4–10
Tom Hayes (ECAC Lacrosse League) (2000–2001)
2000 Tom Hayes 3–11 1–5
Tom Hayes: 194–156 (.554) 1–5 (.167)
Bill Dirrigl (ECAC Lacrosse League) (2001–2002)
2001 Bill Dirrigl 5–8 2–4
Bill Dirrigl: 5–8 (.385) 2–4 (.333)
Jim Stagnitta (ECAC Lacrosse League) (2002–2009)
2002 Jim Stagnitta 2–12 0–5 6th
2003 Jim Stagnitta 10–5 3–2 NCAA Division I First Round
2004 Jim Stagnitta 8–6 1–2 NCAA Division I First Round
2005 Jim Stagnitta 4–9 1–5
2006 Jim Stagnitta 5–9 2–5
2007 Jim Stagnitta 7–6 4–3
2008 Jim Stagnitta 6–7 4–3
2009 Jim Stagnitta 4–11 2–5 T–6th
Jim Stagnitta (Big East Conference) (2010–2011)
2010 Jim Stagnitta 6–8 2–4 T–4th
2011 Jim Stagnitta 6–9 1–5 6th
Jim Stagnitta: 58–82 (.414) 20–39 (.339)
Brian Brecht (Big East Conference) (2012–2014)
2012 Brian Brecht 6–9 1–5 T–6th
2013 Brian Brecht 2–13 0–6 7th
2014 Brian Brecht 8–8 3–3 T–3rd
Brian Brecht (Big Ten Conference) (2015–Present)
2015 Brian Brecht 5–10 1–4 T–5th
2016 Brian Brecht 11–5 3–2 T–2nd
2017 Brian Brecht 10–4 2–3 5th
2018 Brian Brecht 9–6 2–3 T–4th
2019 Brian Brecht 7–8 2–3 4th
2020 Brian Brecht 2–4 0–0
2021 Brian Brecht 9–4 8–2 2nd NCAA Division I Quarterfinals
2022 Brian Brecht 15–4 4–1 2nd NCAA Division I Final Four
2023 Brian Brecht 8–6 1–4 T–5th
2024 Brian Brecht 7–7 1–4 T–5th
Brian Brecht: 99–88 (.529) 28–40 (.412)
Total: 662–543–14 (.549)

      National champion         Postseason invitational champion  
      Conference regular season champion         Conference regular season and conference tournament champion
      Division regular season champion       Division regular season and conference tournament champion
      Conference tournament champion

†NCAA canceled 2020 collegiate activities due to the COVID-19 virus.

Year Drafted Name Position Height Weight Drafted By Draft Pick Current Team All Star Accolades
2015 Joe Nardella Faceoff 5'10 210 Boston Cannons (MLL) 5th round (36th overall) Whipsnakes LC 2x All Star ('20,'21) 1x Cantabene ('20)
2018 Jules Heningburg Attack 6'2 205 Florida Launch (MLL) 1st round (7th overall) Redwoods LC 2x All Star ('19,'21) None
2018 Michael Rexrode Defense 6'0 180 Florida Launch (MLL) 2nd round (16th overall) Atlas LC 1x All Star '21) None
2018 Christian Mazzone Midfield 5'9 165 Ohio Machine (MLL) 3rd round (22nd overall) Waterdogs LC None None
2019 Kyle Pless LSM 5'10 178 Denver Outlaws (MLL) 7th round (63rd overall) Atlas LC None None
2021 Connor Kirst Midfield 6'3 230 Whipsnakes LC 1st round (7th overall) Whipsnakes LC None None
2021 Adam Charalambides Attack 6'2 195 Undrafted Undrafted Cannons LC None None
2022 Colin Kirst Goalie 6'2 220 Cannons LC 3rd round (24th overall) Cannons LC None None
2022 Mitch Bartolo Attack 6'6 238 Redwoods LC 4th round (27th overall) Redwoods LC None None
2022 Brennan Kamish D Midfield 6'0 188 Undrafted Undrafted Whipsnakes LC None None
2022 Ethan Rall LSM 5'9" 186 Undrafted Undrafted Cannons LC None None

References

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  1. ^ "Colors | Visual Identity System". Retrieved April 6, 2017.
  2. ^ Hartstein, Larry (3 June 2013). "Ever-expanding Big Ten adds Johns Hopkins men's lacrosse". CBS Sports. Retrieved 3 June 2013.
  3. ^ "Seventh Annual Athletic Hall of Fame Ceremony Set for May 6". 30 Apr 2010. Retrieved 2014-10-05.
  4. ^ a b "A Proud Tradition". Rutgers Scarlet Knights 2014 Men's Lacrosse Media Guide. 7 February 2014. p. 49. Retrieved 2014-10-05.
  5. ^ https://www.ncaa.com/brackets/lacrosse-men/d1/2021
  6. ^ "'Running and Gunning': Kirst's 18 Saves, Late Transition Spurt Sends Rutgers to First Final Four". www.insidelacrosse.com. Retrieved 2022-05-21.
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