NEWARK, N.J. — The NJIT men's lacrosse team will look to improve on its undefeated 5-0 record and nation-best winning streak (six games) on Saturday as the Highlanders hit the road to take on the Wagner Seahawks on Staten Island.
LAST TIME OUT
A late goal by Owen Corry with 51 seconds left proved to be the difference as NJIT - playing its third game in seven days - improved to 5-0 with an 11-10 victory over the Manhattan Jaspers on February 24.
The Highlanders never trailed in the matchup but withstood a fourth-quarter Manhattan rally from four goals down that tied the game at 10-10 before Corry's game-winner.
Arthur Miller and Garrett Muscatella both produced four-point outings, with Miller scoring a team-high three goals along with an assist and Muscatella had two goals and two assists. Jesse Roth and Michael Rettberg logged one goal and one assist, and four others netted one goal - Ryan Sininsky, Adyn Cover, Jack Bowie, and crucially, Corry.
Billy Kroeger won 16-of-24 faceoffs and corralled a game-high seven ground balls while Hank Bethel added three ground balls and a game-best three caused turnovers.
Liam Brown finished the game with ten saves, second on the team with five ground balls, and also caused two turnovers. He has now made double digit saves in his last 18 matchups dating back to last season.
ON THE (NATIONAL) RADAR
NJIT received votes in the February 26 Inside Lacrosse Media and USILA/Blatant Lacrosse Coaches polls, marking the first time in program history that the Highlanders were on the periphery of the nation's Top 20. The Highlanders are the only America East team represented in the two polls.
ONE OF THE BEST
As of March 1, NJIT is - among Division I programs - one of nine undefeated teams; the first to reach 5-0 this year; and the holders of the nation's longest win streak at six games after reigning national champion and then-No. 1 Notre Dame's streak was stopped at seven games on February 25 in an overtime loss to No. 19 Georgetown.
AWARDS SEASON
NJIT has already racked up a number of awards, recognizing the efforts of the players in creating this historic start to the year. Since the season opener, NJIT has earned the following accolades:
- Hank Bethel - America East Defensive Player of the Week (February 26)
- Garrett Muscatella - America East Offensive Player of the Week (February 12)
- Hank Bethel - USILA Team of the Week (February 6)
- Liam Brown - USILA Team of the Week (February 6)
- Liam Brown - America East Defensive Player of the Week (February 5)
- Arthur Miller - America East Offensive Player of the Week (February 5)
WIRE-TO-WIRE WINNER
The wire-to-wire win over Manhattan was the Highlanders' first since February 1, 2020 when NJIT never trailed in defeating Hampton 24-7 in its first-ever game at the newly opened Lubetkin Field at Mal Simon Stadium.
STEADY AS ALWAYS
Liam Brown's play continues to be a constant area of strength for the Highlanders. Brown became the NJIT all-time leader in saves after making 17 against Siena and ending the day with 587, surpassing former Highlander Nick Marzullo's 579 from 2015-18. Brown has also made double digit saves in his last 18 games dating back to last season.
Entering Saturday, Brown has made 621 saves and sits third in Division I among active players in career saves.
HOLDING ON
The Manhattan win was also NJIT's first when leading at the half since March 27, 2021 at UMass Lowell (led 7-4).
FIRST TIME(S) FOR EVERYTHING
Four of NJIT's five wins this year (Manhattan, Mount St. Mary's, Siena, St. John's) have been the first-ever for the program against that opponent.
READY FOR THE MOMENT
Ryan Sininsky has recorded two hat tricks in his two years at NJIT, and both times they were secured with overtime game-winners that set the program's record for wins in a season: at UMass Lowell on April 29, 2023 (third win of 2023) and February 21 against Monmouth (fourth win of 2024).
TWO WAY PLAYER
Hank Bethel's goal against Monmouth - which tied the contest and set the stage for NJIT's OT win - was the second of his career and first since April 17, 2022 in a Bucknell win over Holy Cross.
TEN GOALS DOWN
After scoring twice against Mount St. Mary's, Arthur Miller became the first Highlander - and player in the America East - to reach double digits in goals on the year. Entering Saturday, Miller remains the league leader in goals with 14.
FINDING SEPARATION
The four-goal win over Mount St. Mary's (11-7) was NJIT's first by more than two goals since March 27, 2021, when the Highlanders defeated UMass Lowell on the road, 14-10.
FIVE ON IT
Prior to 2023, the last time there were two games in a season where a Highlander scored five or more goals was in 2019, when NJIT all-time leading scorer Aaron Forster netted nine goals against Quinnipiac (Mar. 2) and seven at Hampton (Apr. 6). After the Monmouth game,, it has happened three times by three different players - Arthur Miller (at St. John's),
Garrett Muscatella (vs Siena), and
Jack Bowie (vs Monmouth) - with each player resetting their career highs with their performances.
Bowie bested his previous career high of four goals from the Vermont game last year (March 18) and now has scored three or more goals in eight career matches.
Muscatella's five-goal effort against Siena surpassed his previous high of four goals from last season against UAlbany on April 15, 2023. He has increased his career best in single-game goals each year - 2 in 2021, 3 in 2022, 4 in 2023 and now 5 in 2024.
Muscatella also matched Arthur Miller for the team high after Miller's career-high five goal output from the opener at St. John's. Including his three goals against Siena, Miller now has four career games with at least three goals. Miller's five-goal performance was also the first five-goal outing by a Highlander since
Owen Corry's five goal showing at UMass Lowell on March 27, 2021 - and now the Highlanders have two in back-to-back weeks.
IMMEDIATE IMPACT
In just his second game as a Highlander after starting his career at Bellarmine, Jesse Roth (3 G, 2 A vs Siena) recorded his first multi-game game since his penultimate contest at Bellarmine on May 2, 2023 against Mercer (2 G) and his first hat trick game since April 22, 2023 (Bellarmine at Detroit Mercy). Roth followed up that game with another hat trick in the win against Mount St. Mary's, giving him two hat tricks in his first three career NJIT games after netting four across 39 games and four seasons at Bellarmine.
SHOOTOUTS WELCOME
The 31 combined goals in the Siena game (16-15) are tied for the second-most in an NJIT win. The Highlanders' 26-9 win at Hampton (Apr. 6, 2019) holds the combined (35) and NJIT single game records, while the 24-7 win over Hampton (Feb. 1, 2020) is second with today's combined performance.
EXTRA LAX IS GOOD
After outlasting Monmouth, NJIT is now 3-2 all-time in overtime games all-time. All three OT wins have come under head coach Eric Wolf over the last two seasons.
TURNING THE CORNER
In a sign that the program is finally turning the corner after years of hard work: NJIT is 8-10 in its last 18 games after going 7-97 in the 104 games and eight seasons prior.
(RE)WRITING TEN SEASONS OF HISTORY
The Manhattan win was NJIT's 15th in program history:
- Feb. 24, 2024: 11-10 vs Manhattan
- Feb. 21, 2024: 14-13 (OT) vs Monmouth %
- Feb. 18, 2024: 11-7 at Mount St. Mary's
- Feb. 10, 2024: 16-15 (OT) vs Siena %
- Feb. 3, 2024: 10-8 at St. John's
- Apr. 29, 2023: 11-10 (OT) at UMass Lowell %
- Mar. 11, 2023: 14-13 vs Lindenwood %
- Mar. 4, 2023: 10-8 vs Wagner %
- Mar. 27, 2021: 14-10 at UMass Lowell
- Feb. 1. 2020: 24-7 vs Hampton
- Apr. 6, 2019: 26-9 at Hampton
- Mar. 5, 2019: 8-5 vs Monmouth
- Apr. 14, 2018: 15-8 vs Hampton
- Apr. 15, 2017: 17-3 at Hampton
- Mar. 22, 2016: 10-7 at Dartmouth
WINS BREAKDOWN
- 8 at home, 7 on the road
- 8-10 over last two seasons under Coach Wolf
- 3 overtime wins
- 5 wins after trailing after 3 qts (%)
- Average GS-GA in wins: 14.07 - 8.87
2024 STATS LEADERS
TOP RETURNERS (2023 TOTALS)
AMERICA EAST RANKINGS (AS OF 3/1/24)
2024 SCHEDULE
This season will be made up of a 14-game slate: eight home and six road games; seven non-conference and seven America East league matchups.
NJIT will open play on the road on Saturday, February 3 against St. John's, marking the first time the Highlanders have faced off against a member of the Big East since hosting Georgetown on April 20, 2019.
The 2024 home opener for the Highlanders will come the following week (February 10) against Siena. Another road matchup at Mount St. Mary's on February 17 will precede NJIT's lone two-game week at home - a Wednesday night meeting against Monmouth on February 21 and a Saturday matinee against Manhattan on February 24.
March begins with the first of NJIT's final two non-conference games, a road trip to Staten Island to face Wagner on March 2. The non-conference finale will pit NJIT against Lindenwood on March 9. NJIT won a last second thriller against the Lions in their first-ever meeting last season.
NJIT opens America East play away from Newark with a trip to last year's regular season champion Vermont on March 16. The Highlanders will welcome Binghamton to Lubetkin Field at Mal Simon Stadium for the conference home opener the next week (March 23) before another road contest against defending tournament champion Bryant on March 30.
The final two-game homestand for the Highlanders will see them take on Merrimack (April 6) and UAlbany (April 13). NJIT will close out the regular season at UMBC on April 20 and at home against UMass Lowell on April 27.
NJIT will be looking for its first-ever America East tournament berth in 2024. The four-team playoff will take place on the campus of the No. 1 seed on May 2 and May 4.
AE PRESEASON POLL
In this year's America East Preseason Poll, the Highlanders were slated by the league's coaches to finish tied for sixth with Merrimack - an improvement from being chosen last in the 2023 poll. Bryant, last year's tournament champion, was voted as the regular season favorite.
1. Bryant 47 (5)
2. Vermont 39 (1)
3. UAlbany 38 (2)
4. Binghamton 33
5. UMBC 28
T6. NJIT 16
T6. Merrimack 16
8. UMass Lowell 7
2023 HIGHLIGHTS
SCOUTING THE OPPONENT | STATS
Wagner enters Saturday with an 0-4 overall record, having dropped matches at Hofstra, Fairfield, and Monmouth, and at home to Le Moyne. Notables for the Seahawks this season:
- Senior attack Nick Martini leads the team with ten goals and is tied for the team lead with ten points.
- Wagner and the rest of its NEC conference members will restart the league's conference play in 2025.
- Wagner holds a 6-1 advantage in the all-time series with NJIT, but the Highlanders won the teams' last meeting, 10-8, last year (Mar. 4).
NEXT UP
NJIT will close non-conference play at home next week (Saturday, March 9) against Lindenwood. First faceoff is scheduled for Noon in Newark.
