April 6, 2006
Baltimore, Md. - After four straight weeks on the road, the Loyola men's lacrosse team returns to Diane Geppi-Aikens Field to host ECAC counterpart Rutgers. The Greyhounds, looking to improve upon their 2-1 ECAC record, face the Scarlet Knights at 1 p.m. in a game televised locally by ABC-2 and nationally by ESPNU. Live Audio
The game will be the first of four straight conference games for Loyola, which will be looking to make a move up the ECAC standings. The Greyhounds are among a logjam of one-loss teams in the ECAC and will be playing the league's only unbeaten, Georgetown, at home next Saturday.
Loyola is 2-0 at home this season, outscoring those opponents 28-10. Junior Patrick Kennedy, despite missing last week's game at Syracuse, is still the team's leading scorer with 12 goals and 20 points. Junior Dan Bauers is close behind with 11 goals while Ryan Rabidou has 10 goals this season. The Greyhound man-up unit, ranked second in the nation, has converted on 15-of-27 extra-man opportunities. Bauers has five of those goals while junior Andrew Spack has five goals and three assists in the man-up offense.
Rutgers comes into the game with a three-game win streak after Wednesday night's 4-3 win over St. John's. Like Loyola, the Scarlet Knights are 2-1 in the ECAC and are very defensive minded. Rutgers' leading scorer, Chris Doctor, has nine goals and 16 points this season, but it's the defense and its 5.47 goals allowed per game that have carried the Knights.
Expect Saturday's game to be low scoring despite the series history. The Greyhounds lead the all-time series 6-0 after a 10-5 win in Piscataway last season. In that game, Greg Leonard, Bauers and Matt Monfett scored six of Loyola's goals (two apiece) as goalie Michael Fretwell shut out the Scarlet Knights in the fourth quarter. Of their six previous meetings, only two have come in Baltimore - most recently in 1994 when Loyola defeated Rutgers 17-6.
A critical ECAC match-up, this Saturday's game will be Loyola's first of four straight conference tilts. Scott Garcea, Quint Kessenich and Mark Dixon will provide the TV talent while Chris Gunkel delivers the play-by-play on WNST AM 1570.
Loyola-Rutgers Game Notes in PDF Format
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