PISCATAWAY, N.J. (March 8, 2008) – Despite two goals each from sophomore Gerhard Buehning (Essex Falls, N.J.) and freshman Kory Kelly (Princeton, N.J.), the No. 19 Rutgers men's lacrosse team dropped a 10-7 decision to No. 19 Fairfield in both teams ECAC opener Saturday afternoon at a rainy RU Turf Field.

Rutgers (1-2, 0-1), who outshot the Stags 32-19 in the game, also received goals from current ECAC Offensive Player of the Week Justin Pennington (Flemington, N.J.), sophomore Taylor Bottar (Syracuse, N.Y.), and freshman Brian Shemesh (Hillsborough, N.J.).

Fairfield (3-0, 1-0) was led by junior Matt Petre who tallied four goals and added two assists for a game-high six points. Freshman Doug Kuring scored twice for the Stags.

After a closely contested first half in which Fairfield led 4-3, Kelly notched his fifth goal of the season to tie the game at 4-4, one minute into the third quarter. The Stags would respond though as they tallied the next three goals in a span of just over two minutes.

The Scarlet Knights would bounce back as Kelly and Buehning recorded consecutive goals to bring RU within one at 7-6 with 7:56 remaining in the third quarter. However, Fairfield would use another 3-0 run to gain a four goal lead at 10-6 at the end of the period.

Rutgers had numerous chances to mount a comeback in the final quarter, outshooting the Stags 9-1 in the period. However, the Scarlet Knights could only tally one goal as Bottar scored at the 13:34 mark. That goal would be the final of the game.

Rutgers will hit the road for the first time this season to compete in the 2008 Patriot Cup, a four-game lacrosse showcase featuring some of the nation's premier collegiate and high school programs. The Scarlet Knights will play Army at Texas Stadium in Dallas at 3:00 p.m. Central Time.

Score by Period       1  2  3  4  Tot
-------------------------------------
Fairfield...........  3  1  6  0 - 10
Rutgers.............  1  2  3  1 -  7
 
Attendance: 357
 
Fairfield SCORING:
GOALS: Travis Nelson 4; Doug Kuring 2; Chris Ajemian 1; Brendan Finnerty 1;
       Chris Campbell 1; Ryan Mulford 1.
ASSISTS: Travis Nelson 2; Chris Ajemian 1; Brendan Finnerty 1; Kevin Peters 1;
         Max Trunz 1.
 
Rutgers SCORING:
GOALS: Gerhard Buehning 2; Kory Kelly 2; Justin Pennington 1; Taylor Bottar 1;
       Brian Shemesh 1.
ASSISTS: Jeff Rommel 1; Tad Stanwick 1.
 
SHOTS BY PERIOD       1  2  3  4  Tot
-------------------------------------
Fairfield...........  4  4 10  1 - 19
Rutgers.............  8  8  7  9 - 32
 
GROUND BALLS BY PRD   1  2  3  4  Tot
-------------------------------------
Fairfield...........  3  3  9 10 - 25
Rutgers.............  7  4  7 11 - 29
 
FACE-OFFS BY PRD       1     2     3     4     Total
----------------------------------------------------
Fairfield...........  0-5   2-3   5-9   0-2  -  7-19
Rutgers.............  5-5   1-3   4-9   2-2  - 12-19
 
CLEARS BY PERIOD       1     2     3     4     Total
----------------------------------------------------
Fairfield...........  3-8   1-1   1-2   6-9  - 11-20
Rutgers.............  4-5   2-4   1-3   6-6  - 13-18
 
EXTRA-MAN OPPS         1     2     3     4     Total
----------------------------------------------------
Fairfield...........  0-1   0-0   1-1   0-0  -  1-2
Rutgers.............  0-2   0-2   1-2   0-1  -  1-7
 
SAVES BY PERIOD       1  2  3  4  Tot
-------------------------------------
Fairfield...........  3  3  1  2 -  9
Rutgers.............  0  2  2  1 -  5
 
TURNOVERS BY PRD      1  2  3  4  Tot
-------------------------------------
Fairfield...........  8  5  3 11 - 27
Rutgers.............  8  3  6  9 - 26
 
PENALTIES - Fairfield 7/4:00; Rutgers 2/1:00.

2008-03-08