St. John’s Falls at No. 17/RV/RV Rutgers in Season Opener, 17-10

Saturday, February 8

Piscataway, N.J. / SHI Stadium

3 P.M.

St. John's University

0-1

No. 17/RV/RV Rutgers

2-0

ST. JOHN'S

St. John’s Falls at No. 17/RV/RV Rutgers in Season Opener, 17-10

2/8/2020 6:55:00 PM | Men's Lacrosse

Box Score Final Box Score (PDF)

Joe and Mike Madsen each scored three goals in Saturday’s loss to the Scarlet Knights

By: Nicholas Diamantis

PISCATAWAY, N.J. (Feb. 8, 2020) – Despite freshman faceoff specialist Jonathan Dugenio winning 25-of-31 faceoffs from the X, St. John's dropped its season-opener at No. 17/RV/RV Rutgers, 17-10, on a blustery cold Saturday at SHI Stadium in Piscataway, N.J.

Seniors Mike Madsen and Joe Madsen led the way offensively for St. John's (0-1), as the duo each fired three goals past Rutgers (2-0) goalkeeper Stephen Russo.

Three other Johnnies scored in the season opener, including senior Ryan Schaeffer who registered two tallies. Dugenio and Grant Galligan both scored one goal apiece and freshman Connor Kalmus dished two assists to round out St. John's offense.

Dugenio was phenomenal from the X in his first collegiate appearance for the Red Storm, securing 25-of-31 faceoffs. The Bridgewater, N.J., native's 25 faceoff wins is the most since Justin Corpolongo recorded 17 faceoff victories in two games during the 2016 season.

The Scarlet Knights were led by Adam Charalambides who scored six goals and registered one assist. Ryan Gallagher finished with five points as he fired four goals and dished an assist. Michael Sanguinetti had two goals and five other Scarlet Knights scored one goal apiece.

In what was a well-paced and clean game that only saw four penalties between the two teams, Rutgers and St. John's both fired 48 shots. Despite grabbing 39 groundballs compared to Rutgers' 23, the Johnnies were too careless with the ball as they committed 18 turnovers in the losing effort.

Both teams played well defensively in the first quarter which only saw five goals between the teams. Rutgers struck first in the contest with a goal from senior Charalambides at the 11:37 mark. Galligan tied the game up at one, scoring the first Red Storm goal and second of his collegiate career with 5:37 left in the opening period. Rutgers would answer back with back-to-back goals to take a 3-1 advantage with 2:39 left. Mike Madsen closed the first quarter with his first goal of the season at the 1:23 mark.

After trailing 3-2 at the start of the second period, Dugenio evened the game at three goals apiece, firing a shot past Russo after winning the opening faceoff. Rutgers would respond with three-consecutive tallies from Gallagher (twice) and Ethan Rall. Schaeffer temporarily stopped the bleeding with his first goal of the season at the 7:36 mark. With the score at 6-4, Rutgers would increase their lead to six before the break with goals from Charalambides, Brennan Kamish, and Michael Sanguinetti.

After Rutgers' Sanguinetti scored his second-straight goal to commence the second half, the Johnnies were able to trim the Scarlet Knights' lead to 10-6 behind two goals from Joe Madsen. The Red Storm and Scarlet Knights would trade goals as the score was 12-8 with 3:24 left in the third period. Rutgers scored two pivotal goals from Charalambides and Ross Scott to close the quarter and put the contest out of reach at 14-8 with 15 minutes left in the game.

With the Johnnies unable to build any momentum to mount a comeback, it would take almost seven minutes for either team to score the first goal in the fourth stanza. Mark Schachte and Ryan Gallagher added two goals to increase Rutgers lead to 16-8 with 6:21 left to play. Schaeffer and Mike Madsen would score the final two Red Storm goals of the contest.

The Red Storm will have a quick turnaround as they will have 48 hours to prepare for a road contest with local rival Stony Brook on Tuesday, Feb. 11. The opening faceoff is scheduled for 5 p.m. ET.