PISCATAWAY, N.J. (February 24, 2008) – The Rutgers men's lacrosse team kicked off the 2008 season with a dominating 13-4 victory over No. 19 UMBC at the RU Turf Field Sunday afternoon. Junior Mike Dugan (Summit, N.J.) and freshman Kory Kelly (Princeton, N.J.) each tallied three goals to pace the Scarlet Knights.

Rutgers (1-0), which has won its last six season openers, also got major contributions from sophomore Gerhard Buehning (Essex Falls, N.J.) who posted two goals and led the team with two assists.

UMBC, which lost its season opener to No. 13 Delaware, drops to 0-2 on the season after qualifying for the NCAA Tournament in 2007. The Retrievers were led by Ryan Smith, who tallied his fourth goal of the season.

The Scarlet Knights would take control early, as Buehning scored both of his goals during a 4-0 RU run to start the game. Christian Daly got UMBC on the board with 1:23 remaining in the first quarter, but Dugan's second goal of the first quarter would give RU a 5-1 edge at the end of the quarter.

Kelly's first goal of the game at the 8:51 mark in the second quarter would increase RU's advantage to 6-1. After a Retrievers tally, Dugan and sophomore Justin Pennington (Flemington, N.J.) each scored to send the Scarlet Knights into the intermission up 8-2.

A potent RU attack wouldn't let up in the second half as the Scarlet Knights scored the first two goals of the third quarter and five of the games next six goals to take their largest lead of the game at 13-3. A late goal by UMBC's Kyle Wimer would cut RU's final advantage to 13-4.

The Scarlet Knights now own an 8-4 all-time record against UMBC, including winning the last two contests between the squads.

Sophomore goalkeeper Billy Olen (Horseheads, N.Y.) looked impressive in goal as he made 17 saves on the afternoon, just one shy of his season-high in 2007.

Rutgers will return home next Saturday to take on Delaware at the RU Turf Field. The Blue Hens, who reached the NCAA Final Four last season, are off to a 2-0 start. Game time is set for 1:00 p.m.

Score by Period       1  2  3  4  Tot
-------------------------------------
UMBC................  1  1  1  1 -  4
Rutgers.............  5  3  2  3 - 13
 
Attendance: 951
 
UMBC SCORING:
GOALS: Hopmann, Alex 1; Smith, Ryan 1; Wimer, Kyle 1; Daly; Christian 1.
ASSISTS: Kimener, Terry 1.
 
Rutgers SCORING:
GOALS: Kory Kelly 3; Mike Dugan 3; Gerhard Buehning 2; Justin Pennington 1;
       Jeff Rommel 1; Tad Stanwick 1; Taylor Bottar 1; Brendan Porter 1.
ASSISTS: Gerhard Buehning 2; Justin Pennington 1; Jeff Rommel 1; Tad Stanwick 1.
 
SHOTS BY PERIOD       1  2  3  4  Tot
-------------------------------------
UMBC................  7 10  4 12 - 33
Rutgers............. 10  9 11  8 - 38
 
GROUND BALLS BY PRD   1  2  3  4  Tot
-------------------------------------
UMBC................  4  8  9  7 - 28
Rutgers.............  6  9 10  4 - 29
 
FACE-OFFS BY PRD       1     2     3     4     Total
----------------------------------------------------
UMBC................  1-7   3-5   2-4   2-5  -  8-21
Rutgers.............  6-7   2-5   2-4   3-5  - 13-21
 
CLEARS BY PERIOD       1     2     3     4     Total
----------------------------------------------------
UMBC................  3-4   3-4   1-6   2-3  -  9-17
Rutgers.............  4-4   3-5   3-3   2-2  - 12-14
 
EXTRA-MAN OPPS         1     2     3     4     Total
----------------------------------------------------
UMBC................  0-0   1-2   0-1   0-1  -  1-4
Rutgers.............  0-0   0-0   1-1   0-1  -  1-2
 
SAVES BY PERIOD       1  2  3  4  Tot
-------------------------------------
UMBC................  1  4  5  3 - 13
Rutgers.............  3  4  1  9 - 17
 
TURNOVERS BY PRD      1  2  3  4  Tot
-------------------------------------
UMBC................  3  4 10  3 - 20
Rutgers.............  4  4  5  3 - 16
 
PENALTIES - UMBC 3/3:00; Rutgers 4/2:30.

2008-02-24