Rutgers men's lacrosse fends off feisty Lehigh to win season opener
- Thread starter CamdenM
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Stoller didn't start. Came in cold off the bench after injury and a goal by Lehigh in the first minute or two. Had a bad go of it in the beginning but settled as did our D.
Stoller did start, as posted on the starting lineup announcements pregame and in the media stat sheets. But yes he definitely settled in nicely as the game went on! Started very shaky but I think showed us what Brecht sees in him more so as the game went on
Stoller definitely started. He’s the clear number 1. Started off a little shaky but really came on when it mattered. Love his play out of the cage. He’s not afraid to get involved.
It was his first game under the bright lights. He’s going to be very good for us.
It was his first game under the bright lights. He’s going to be very good for us.
Glad he settled in because there was a part of me ready to bench him after the 1st quarter. Good thing Brecht isn't as impatient as I am lol.
The broadcasters at first Said the Goalie was hurt on the first goal, but it was one of the grad transfer middies (edwards) who was down in the crease, not stoller.
He’s a redshirt freshman getting first live action. We are going to give him all the time he needs. He’s the guy. He was very highly sought and has done nothing in practice but show why he was so highly rated out of HS. He will be an All American at Rutgers
Don’t forget the entire defense is new. They have a lot to work on but if you paid close attention you saw them getting better as the game went on. We held Lehigh scoreless for a very long stretch.
I'm sure he wasn't expecting to play 30 seconds into the game. Took him a quarter to settle down and get focused. Probably hyped because it was his first game. Just goes to show how bench players are 1 play away from being in the game and need to be ready.
I am a little surprised that the game was this close, as I don’t think Lehigh is a great team, though they do have a couple of nice pieces. But you often see a lot it surprising results week 1 so I am happy to come away with the win. Just look what happened to PSU And Hopkins. Not to mention Richmond taking the Terps to 2OT.
This team has a lot of talent, especially on offense. I really hope Kelly is not out for long, as we need that step down hammer that can take on double teams, create from up top and rip from the outside. Take a lot of attention away from Ross so he can do his thing. Kulas is a straight assassin but his game is limited because he is one handed and can’t really carry. Wish he were a lefty. Wasn’t to impressed with the Amherst kid by its only one game. Not sure if we have any other natural lefties. Wouldn’t be surprised to see the older Kurdyla step into that spot as I don’t think he has much drop off right to left.
Strength of this team is clearly midfield. After Knobloch, who is on another level, there isn’t much drop off. The Lehigh kid looks like a player. Aimone is picking up where he left off. That first unit is could be special. Teresky and Ringer have played a lot for us and could probably start for a lot of teams. The younger Kurdyla does not look like a freshman. I wasn’t expecting much from the Bucknell kid but I thought he looked good. Big kid.
Big loss at DMid if the UMBC kid is out for long. I think he was going to be an important 2 way piece. I we seem to have decent depth there but we need to get the transition game revved up as we didn’t really see it this week.
Biggest concern is defense other than goalie. Thought Stoller looked the part. We are set there for a while imo. We are breaking in a lot of new players at close and dmid, but my biggest concern is that we are still having issues with the basic slides. We gave up way too many one on one goals. That can’t happen at this level. Better teams will eat us alive if we just let them go at us one on one and don’t force them to find the open look. We have struggled with this for the last few years and I don’t really understand it, as it is really basic stuff. I can live with teams scoring off the second or third feed, but giving up uncontested looks off the dodge just can’t happen. I really hope they can get this buttoned up or it will be another long season unless we can get NASCAR revved up and average 20+ goals per game.
This team has a lot of talent, especially on offense. I really hope Kelly is not out for long, as we need that step down hammer that can take on double teams, create from up top and rip from the outside. Take a lot of attention away from Ross so he can do his thing. Kulas is a straight assassin but his game is limited because he is one handed and can’t really carry. Wish he were a lefty. Wasn’t to impressed with the Amherst kid by its only one game. Not sure if we have any other natural lefties. Wouldn’t be surprised to see the older Kurdyla step into that spot as I don’t think he has much drop off right to left.
Strength of this team is clearly midfield. After Knobloch, who is on another level, there isn’t much drop off. The Lehigh kid looks like a player. Aimone is picking up where he left off. That first unit is could be special. Teresky and Ringer have played a lot for us and could probably start for a lot of teams. The younger Kurdyla does not look like a freshman. I wasn’t expecting much from the Bucknell kid but I thought he looked good. Big kid.
Big loss at DMid if the UMBC kid is out for long. I think he was going to be an important 2 way piece. I we seem to have decent depth there but we need to get the transition game revved up as we didn’t really see it this week.
Biggest concern is defense other than goalie. Thought Stoller looked the part. We are set there for a while imo. We are breaking in a lot of new players at close and dmid, but my biggest concern is that we are still having issues with the basic slides. We gave up way too many one on one goals. That can’t happen at this level. Better teams will eat us alive if we just let them go at us one on one and don’t force them to find the open look. We have struggled with this for the last few years and I don’t really understand it, as it is really basic stuff. I can live with teams scoring off the second or third feed, but giving up uncontested looks off the dodge just can’t happen. I really hope they can get this buttoned up or it will be another long season unless we can get NASCAR revved up and average 20+ goals per game.
Over a 1,000 fans showed up on February 3rd to watch a lacrosse game. Time to get that RU lacrosse only stadium built.
Crowd was great for an early Feb game. Sure the weather played a part but still.
I think Krummanacher will get more of a look at the lefty spot but he is going to have to produce. If not Sidorski is sitting right there at the midfield. He was a 2x all Patriot League attackman who had a bunch of points, including 3 on Saturday. I am sure they will not hesitate to go to him if needed.
I think Kelly being out really changes that spot. With Kulas being more a sniper, you need the lefty spot to more dynamic and able to carry.
Thought it was great seeing Kulas get 2 goals, plus 3 assists. He had a rough time at the end of last year, in conference play, with Cameron out (when Kulas' role changed due to the injury). This was a nice bounce back game for him.
Didn’t realize that. Probably makes sense to move him down. I actually like Kulas in the righty spot as long as we have a lefty initiator. He is a good weapon to have on the field as long as you are not asking him to carry. He is a lethal finisher.
Probably just a matter of time before the freshman Kurdyla is running with the ones. Even though he didn’t score, you can see that whatever “IT” is, he has it. I’m sure Brecht would prefer to bring him along slowly but sometimes injuries force your hand. May as well toss him into the fire. Knobloch will draw the pole every time and Aimone is playing at a high level and will attract a lot of the attention. Playing with those two will take a lot of pressure off him which should be good for his development
With the injuries at DM and close, offense may be our best defense. We are going to have to figure out how to score early and often.
Agree. With those injuries it did appear we lost our share of 1v1s. Thank God we came out on the right side of things at the dot or else we may well be looking at a two goal loss and not a win imo.
Yeah we need to get our slide rotation fixed. Only 2 of 12 goals by Lehigh were assisted, which can’t happen. But that might be a bigger warning sign for Lehigh though. If their offense is going to rely solely on scoring directly off the dodge, it will be a long season for them. Tough to win that way at this level.
By the end of the season, provided good health, Colin Kurdyla will have some monster plays including some wow ones.
Watched the game again he looked unguardable vs shorties at this level. One play in particular was next level. Went right, swim move, lefty fake, back to the right to find Kulas on the crease cross field who just couldn't finish it. But that play was all you need to see.
He didn't score but he had 4 great looks he put himself in position for. Those will fall. He's going to get a lot of opportunities whether that is running with the ones or being the guy on the 2s.
I don't like to give too much private info away on the boards but he made a really good statement after the game. "I didn't realize it would be this easy to score at this level". The lightbulb is going off in real time.
Watched the game again he looked unguardable vs shorties at this level. One play in particular was next level. Went right, swim move, lefty fake, back to the right to find Kulas on the crease cross field who just couldn't finish it. But that play was all you need to see.
He didn't score but he had 4 great looks he put himself in position for. Those will fall. He's going to get a lot of opportunities whether that is running with the ones or being the guy on the 2s.
I don't like to give too much private info away on the boards but he made a really good statement after the game. "I didn't realize it would be this easy to score at this level". The lightbulb is going off in real time.
Yea I think you have to move him down. He can carry. I didn't see that from Krummanacher but not sure they are asking him to. With Kelly in he could be more of a finisher because both Kelly and Ross can obviously go.
With Kulas being more of a finisher you need someone else who can go at the left spot. It was encouraging that teams have been very willing to switch to Kulas with a shorty. He made them pay for that. We need to see more if it.
I was a little shocked at how smooth he looked as a true freshman in his first live action at this level. Reminds me a bit of Greg Rinaldi back in the day. Makes everyone on the field look like they’re moving in slo-mo.
Totally. He just glides around out there. I don’t want to put him in that class just yet but he has an outside shot and probably weighs 30 pounds more at this point. Wait until he gets some man muscle with age and more weight training. Could easily see him holding 20 more lbs without losing mobility. 6’3 220 with that skill set and mobility is monster status.
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Honestly, it's been the last few years but yea, this is all tough. We've lost three key starters. You build depth and we have it but you simply can't be what you were built to be when you have these types of injuries to these types of players.
Kids will battle and grind though. That's the culture in the program. Next man up mentality.
Kids will battle and grind though. That's the culture in the program. Next man up mentality.
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