Men's Lacrosse | 2/12/2018 6:05:00 PM
NJIT men's lacrosse travels to West Point, NY to face No. 13 Army West Point tomorrow for a 3pm game.
The Highlanders look for their first win of 2018, while the Black Knights strive to stay undefeated.
ALL TIME SERIES
The Black Knights have a 2-0 advantage over the Highlanders, playing each other in the third consecutive year at Michie Stadium.
In their first meeting in 2016, the Highlanders kept with West Point in the first half, with the score tied 3-3 in the first quarter and 6-4 at half. West Point scored two unanswered goals in the third, and then outscored the Highlanders 8-2 in the final stanza to earn the 16-6 win. NJIT's top man Aaron Forster made two goals and two assists in his debut against the Black Knights and Nick Marzullo made 12 saves.
Last season NJIT dropped a 19-6 decision to the No. 8 Black Knights. Forster became the Highlanders all-time career points' leader and the all-time assist leader, after tallying a goal and an assist in the loss. In his second consecutive start, Cameron Cronk made 13 saves.
A LOOK AT THE BLACK KNIGHTS
Army West Point is 1-0 coming off a dominating 18-6 win over UMass on February 10. The Black Knights received hat tricks from four players and had an 8-2 lead at halftime
The Black Knights were picked to finish second in the Patriot League this season, behind Loyola. Johnny Surdick was voted Patriot League Preseason Defender of the Year while David Symmes was named to the All-Patriot League Preseason team.
West Point has seven members of the team that rank in the top 50 of the NCAA Division I men's lacrosse stats, and as a team they rank tied for third in goals per game (18.00) and tied for seventh in goals against (6.00).
Symmes is the leader in points with his three goals and three assists to his name, with Nate Jones, Connor Glancy and Ted Glesnener right there with him with three goals each.
Dom Ricca is the leader in ground balls and has a five-way tie with his teammate in caused turnovers with one.
John Ragno is the Black Knights go to on the faceoff circle, going 5-for-12 against UMass.
In goal AJ Barretto returns and notched his first win against UMass, making 10 saves in 56 minutes.
A LOOK AT THE HIGHLANDERS
The Highlanders are coming off a close 10-8 loss to Lafayette, where eleven different Highlanders posted career days, including graduate student Matthew Valdez breaking the program record for caused turnovers in a game with four.
NJIT's top scorers in the game were a freshman and a sophomore in Max Wilson and Ryan Kaden. The due combined for two goals and four assists.
NJIT won the battle in ground balls, getting 26 to the Leopards 23 and had the edge in man-up opportunities earning three to Lafayette's one.
Ryan Darrow and Aaron Forster lead the team in points with five each, Darrow has a team-leading four goals and one assist while Forster boasts three goals and two assists.
Forster has a 15 game points and goals streak currently going on which started on February 25, 2017.
With Forster, Ryan Kaden, Nicholas Irwin and Max Wilson each have a team-leading two assists.
Defender John Tachon leads the team in ground balls with nine and Matthew Valdez has four, all of which he earned in the Highlanders game against Lafayette—which is a new program record for caused turnovers in a game.
In goal for the Highlanders has been Nick Marzullo. The senior ranks tied for fourth in the nation with 14.00 saves per game, and 13th in save percentage earning himself a .549.
