NEWARK, N.J. --- NJIT Men's Lacrosse closes its March home schedule on Saturday afternoon with a Noon matchup against the Wagner Seahawks.
LAST TIME OUT
Ryan Darrow registered the third hat trick of his career - all coming this season - and
Vincent D'Agostino matched his career-high with a pair of scores for NJIT in an 18-5 loss to Fairfield on March 19.
John Tachon led the Highlanders defense with six ground balls and a pair of caused turnovers while
Alexzander Hunt made a game-high 18 saves.
LIGHTING IT UP
Aaron Forster's nine-goal, 11-assist performance against Quinnipiac on March 2 was memorable on a number of fronts. Both numbers extended Forster's previous school records (5 goals, March 17, 2017 vs Rutgers; 9 points, April 15, 2017 at Hampton) and currently place the Ottawa native atop the NCAA national lists in both categories. Forster was named to the USILA Team of the Week on March 6 due to his performance.
ON A TEAR
Forster currently holds the longest scoring streak of the season for the Highlanders, having put home a goal in five straight games (Feb. 23 - Mar. 16).
Collin Fogerty (Feb. 9 - Mar. 2) and
Ryan Darrow (Mar. 5-present) has the second longest streak at four games. Forster (Feb. 23 - Mar. 9) and Darrow (Mar. 5-present) also hold the mark for consecutive multi-goal games this season (4), with Fogerty (Feb.9 - 23) in second place with three.
MAKING A POINT
Ryan Darrow is the only Highlander this season to record at least one point in every game:
- 3 at Lehigh (2 G / 1 A)
- 4 at Lafayette (3 G / 1 A)
- 1 vs Delaware (1 G)
- 2 at VMI (2 G)
- 2 vs Quinnipiac (2 A)
- 3 vs Monmouth (2 G /1 A)
- 4 vs UMass (4 G / 1 A)
- 2 at Saint Joseph's (2 G)
- 3 vs Fairfield (3 G)
THE BIG FIVE-O
With his third goal against Fairfield,
Ryan Darrow reached the 50 goal mark for his career. Darrow is in second place all-time in Highlander history in goals scored.
OFF THE WALL
Alexzander Hunt already owns three of the top four single-game save performances in Highlander history. Hunt made a school-record 22 saves against Delaware at home on February 16 and followed it up with a 20-save outing at VMI last week. Hunt added a 21-save effort against UMass on March 9. The old record and only other 20-save performance in NJIT history belonged to former Highlander
Nick Marzullo (21 vs UMass-Lowell on April 29, 2017). Hunt and NJIT currently lead the nation in saves per game (16.56).
TEAM LEADERS
Aaron Forster (20 goals, 7 assists, 27 points),
John Tachon (38 ground balls),
Tyler Stevenson (69-149 FOs; .463),
Kevin Falteisek (17 caused turnovers), and
Alexzander Hunt (149 saves) are pacing the Highlanders so far this season.
CAREER HIGHLIGHTS
Aaron Forster and
John Tachon currently rank in the top 11 in a number of active career categories. Forster's 99 points is 10th overall and Tachon's 203 ground balls (10th) and 5.08 ground balls per game (12th) are top-15 nationally.
STOP AND GO
On two occasions,
Kevin Falteisek matched the NJIT record for caused turnovers in a game with four - February 16 vs Delaware and March 16 at Saint Joseph's.
QUICK DRAW
Tyler Stevenson improved his program record for faceoff wins in a game with 20 during the Highlanders' game at Lafayette (20-26).
(CLOSE TO) HOME SWEET HOME
NJIT's 2019 home schedule is its first as a program that will be played exclusively in Newark. The Highlanders have played the majority of their home games for the last four years at Drew University and are expected to begin play on NJIT's new on-campus field in 2020 when they become members of the Northeast Conference.
HIGHEST OF HIGHLANDERS
Aaron Forster continues to sit atop the record books for the young Highlander program. After his last game, Forster extended his marks for most career goals (99), assists (42), and points (140) in NJIT history.
THE MORE, THE MERRIER
In 4 of 9 games this season, NJIT has had at three players score multiple goals - on the road at Lehigh, Lafayette, VMI and Saint Joseph's.
CAPTAINS FOR 2019
Fifth-year head coach
Travis Johnson has announced the four student-athletes who were voted captains by their teammates for 2019. Selected to lead the Highlanders are: senior midfielder
Ryan Darrow, senior attacker
Aaron Forster, junior attacker
Ryan Kaden, and junior defender
John Tachon. "Our team has chosen four outstanding young men that are stellar student-athletes, great leaders, high character men and phenomenal people. They lead by example and elevate the people around them. We are excited that they will lead us in the 2019 season," Johnson said about the quartet.
STRENGTH IN NUMBERS
The Highlanders have continued to grow in their program in their five seasons of existence. After bringing in their largest squad ever in 2018 (38 members), the Highlanders has increased their numbers this year to 43 after bringing 11 newcomers into the fold.
QUALITY COMPETITION
NJIT'S 15-game schedule includes matchups with four teams that have been ranked in either the Inside Lacrosse or USILA poll at some point this season: Lehigh (13th during NJIT game), UMass (RV during NJIT game), Georgetown, and Army West Point.
IN 2018...
- Forster paced NJIT in goals (30), assists (13), total points (43), man-up goals (6), shots (109), and shots on goal (58).
- Tachon scooped up the most ground balls (94) and caused the most turnovers (18).
-
Adam Gonzalez won 43.5% of his faceoffs (91-209) to lead the Highlanders.
SCOUTING WAGNER
Wagner opened 2019 with a 7-6 road win over Bellarmine but have lost its last seven games, including a 13-7 loss at Hobart on March 16 in the Northeast Conference (NEC) opener for both teams. The Seahawks are paced by Dominic Branda (14 goals, 18 points), John Norton (8 assists), Nick Warren (31 ground balls, 77 faceoff wins), Kyle Stofko (22 caused turnovers), and Matt Sefcik (90 saves).
NJIT is 0-4 all-time against Wagner, with the Highlanders falling to the Seahawks last season, 7-5 (March 24).
