NEWARK, N.J. --- NJIT Men's Lacrosse looks to win a second straight game on Saturday when the Highlanders welcome the UMass Minutemen to Newark.
LAST TIME OUT
Seniors
Ryan Darrow and
Aaron Forster each scored a pair of goals to lead the NJIT men's lacrosse team to its first victory of the season, an 8-5 triumph over the Monmouth Hawks on March 5. The duo - who have scored in the same game four times in six contests this year - were two of the six players to find the net in NJIT's first victory since defeating Hampton on April 14 of last season. Senior
Cole Robillard, along with sophomores
Vincent D'Agostino,
Colton Johnson and
Jackson Boyd, helped propel NJIT (1-5) to victory over the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) preseason favorites. The win was the first in program history for NJIT when scoring in single digits and was the earliest (six games) the Highlanders have recorded their first win of the season.
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.
ON A TEAR
Collin Fogerty's three-game run of multi-goal games this season is the longest such streak for the Highlanders since
Aaron Forster rattled off five straight games of 2+ goals from February 13 to March 6 of last season.
Aaron Forster has since matched Fogerty's streak with his current three-game multi-goal run (started February 23 at VMI).
MAKING A POINT
Ryan Darrow is the only Highlander this season to record at least one point in all six games:
- 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)
OFF THE WALL
Alexzander Hunt already owns two of the top three 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. 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 is currently second in the nation in saves per game (15.67).
TEAM LEADERS
Aaron Forster (17 goals, 22 points),
Ryan Darrow (5 assists; tied with Forster);
John Tachon (29 ground balls),
Tyler Stevenson (59-114 FOs; .518),
Kevin Falteisek (12 caused turnovers), and
Alexzander Hunt (94 saves) are pacing the Highlanders so far this season.
(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 (96), assists (40), and points (136) in NJIT history.
THE MORE, THE MERRIER
In half of the games this season (3 of 6), NJIT has had at three players score multiple goals - at Lehigh, at Lafayette and at VMI.
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 UMASS
UMass, the reigning CAA champions, were picked to repeat this season. The Minutemen won their last game, a 14-8 road victory over Albany. UMass is led by Gabriel Procyk (12 goals) Chris Connolly (11 assists, 18 points), Tom Meyers (40 ground balls, 71 faceoff wins), Isaac Paparo (14 caused turnovers), and Sean Sconome (70 saves).
In their last matchup, NJIT was defeated by UMass, 17-3 in Amherst (March 10, 2018).
