LAST TIME OUT

NJIT kicked off its 2020 campaign and christened its new home field with a 24-7 victory over the visiting Hampton Pirates on February 1 at Lubetkin Field at Mal Simon Stadium.
 

Freshman Gavyn Willson and junior Collin Fogerty led the Highlander offensive explosion against Hampton (0-1). Willson put up a game-high five goals and added an assist in his first collegiate action while Fogerty led all players with four assists to go along with one goal. Three players tied for the NJIT lead with four ground balls - freshman Beck Gozdenovich, senior John Tachon, and redshirt senior Sean Duncan. Tachon and junior Colton Johnson each forced three turnovers on the defensive end. NJIT went a combined 20-33 (.606) on faceoffs, with freshman Billy Kroeger winning the most (8-13) and fellow newcomer Nick Gutierrez posting the best percentage (.700, 7-10). Freshmen Liam Brown and Piers McGinn split time at goalkeeper and were both effective with their time in net. Brown started the game, picked up his first career victory, and made six saves. McGinn came in after halftime and made a pair of saves in his 30 minutes.

TOP OF THE HEAP

The Highlanders' 24 goals - which were two shy of NJIT's school record of 26 from last year's win at Hampton - were the most scored by any team on the opening day of the lacrosse season, ahead of the 23 scored by Maryland vs High Point and the 20 netted by Rutgers vs Quinnipiac. NJIT's 17-goal margin of victory was also the largest on opening day (+13: UNC / Colgate; +12: Mercer / Florida Tech).

STARTING STRONG

NJIT's opening quarter of the season was one to remember. The Highlanders scored 11 goals in the first 15 minutes of the season, more than any other quarter in program history.

THE FIRST OF MANY

Ryan Kaden scored the first goal on the new Lubetkin Field, putting home an unassisted shot at the 12:21 mark of the first quarter of the Hampton game.

NEW FIELD, NEW LEAGUE, NEW ERA

After playing the vast majority of its home games away from campus and as an independent over the first five years of the program, sixth-year head coach Travis Johnson will lead the Highlanders into a new era this season as members of the Northeast Conference and the final tenants to play on NJIT's brand new turf field.

NJIT accepted the NEC's invitation in the fall of 2018 and will join fellow lacrosse-only members Saint Joseph's and Hobart College in the ten-team league along with NEC core members Bryant, LIU, Merrimack, Mount St. Mary's, Robert Morris, Sacred Heart and Wagner.

"We are very excited to join the Northeast Conference as an associate member in men's lacrosse. Since our program's inception, we have been searching for a competitive league within our geographic region and the NEC is a perfect fit," said Associate Vice President/Director of Athletics Lenny Kaplan at the time of the announcement. "This partnership is the final piece to help us grow into the competitive program that we envisioned since its launch. On behalf of NJIT athletics, specifically our lacrosse student-athletes and coaches, I want to thank Commissioner Morris for this exciting opportunity," Kaplan said.

"Our program couldn't be more excited to join the NEC. There are so many great programs, coaches and players right around the corner from us," Johnson said at the announcement. "Our student-athletes can now compete for a conference playoff bid, a conference championship and an NCAA bid. These are great times for our program, which is truly thankful for the dedicated efforts of Dr. Joel Bloom and Lenny Kaplan."

Lacrosse will be the third and final team to play on Lubetkin Field, which officially opened on August 22 when Women's Soccer hosted UMBC. It will also mark the first time since the program's inaugural season that Lacrosse will play on-campus (last on-campus game: April 14, 2014 vs Dartmouth). 

Features of Lubetkin Field at Mal Simon Stadium include: a digital videoboard capable of displaying live video, animation, player headshots, graphics and statistics; a scoreboard, Musco LED Lighting; and field level seating for spectators. The facility also meets broadcast standards for potential NCAA Regional hosting opportunities. An enclosed spacious press box with high-speed internet access and seating for media and radio broadcasters, as well as athletic training and locker rooms are located next to the field inside NJIT's Wellness and Events Center, which opened in November 2017.

2020 CAPTAINS

Helping to lead the 2020 Highlanders will be a trio of captains - seniors Luke Binder (defender), Ryan Kaden (attack), and John Tachon (defender). Kaden and Tachon served the team as captains last season while Binder will take on the role after the graduations of seniors Ryan Darrow and Aaron Forster.

IN 2019...

- NJIT won multiple games for the first time in its history (8-5 vs Monmouth on March 5 and 26-9 at Hampton on April 6)

- The Highlanders set new team marks for goals in a game (26 at Hampton) and goals in a season (153)

- Aaron Forster was drafted 15th overall by the Toronto Rock in the National Lacrosse League (NLL) Draft after leaving NJIT with virtually every Highlander offensive record to his name.

TOP RETURNERS (2019 TOTALS)

- Goals: Collin Fogerty (15)

- Assists: Fogerty (17)

- Points: Fogerty (32)

- Ground Balls: John Tachon (57)

- Man-Up Goals: Noah Kepes (2)

- Faceoff Pct.: Sean Duncan (.247 | 22-89)

- Shots: Fogerty (67)

- SOG: Fogerty (36 | .537)

- Caused Turnovers: Tachon (15)

STIFF COMPETITION

The Highlanders will face a pair of teams ranked in initial polls and one just outside the preseason top-20. NJIT will travel to Army West Point (No. 15 USILA) on February 10 and host Lehigh (No. 20 USILA) on February 22 to begin a four-game home stand in Newark. NJIT will face fellow NEC member Robert Morris - one of eight teams to receive consideration for the USILA preseason poll but not make the top-20 - on March 21 in Pennsylvania.

2020 SCHEDULE NOTES

- NJIT will play a 14-game schedule, with its contests evenly split between home, road, non-conference, and NEC contests - seven of each.

- First home game on new Lubetkin Field: February 1 vs Hampton

- First road game: February 8 at Monmouth

- First-ever NEC game: March 14 vs LIU

- First NEC road game: March 21 at Robert Morris

- NJIT will open 2020 with the two opponents it earned wins over in 2019, Hampton and Monmouth. The Highlanders edged Monmouth at home (8-5 on March 5) and handled Hampton on the road (26-9 on April 6).

- NJIT will be playing five of their seven NEC opponents - LIU, Robert Morris, Merrimack, Mount St. Mary's, and Bryant - for the first time ever.

- The Highlanders will face three of the five programs the team has played in all five years of its existence: at Monmouth (Feb. 8), vs Manhattan (Mar. 7), and at Wagner (Mar. 28). The program-opening game streaks will end against Quinnpiac and Lafayette.

ALL-TIME SERIES

NJIT currently trails Monmouth in the all-time series 1-4 but won the teams' last meeting in a thrilling 8-5 home victory on March 5 of last year.

SCOUTING MONMOUTH

Monmouth will be playing its first game of 2020 after compiling a 4-8 record in 2019. The Hawks' returning leaders include Cade Stratton (12 G, 4 A, 16 Pts), Chris Hervada (40 GB, 17 CT), Ian Weinberg (112-221), and Noah Lode (711:59, 9.19 GAA, 129 saves).

NEXT UP

NJIT will have a quick turnaround after facing Monmouth, taking on Army West Point on the road on Monday, February 10 at 3 p.m.