Rutgers men's lacrosse ends 2024 season with Big Ten Tournament loss to No. 10 Penn State
It was an all too familiar performance from the Rutgers men's lacrosse team against Penn State. The Scarlet Knights (7-7, 1-4) fell 14-8 in the first round of the Big Ten Tournament on Saturday to end their 2024 season and suffered their second-straight defeat to the Nittany Lions (10-3, 3-2) in just eight days.
Rutgers got out to an early 2-0 lead via tallies from junior attacker Dante Kulas and freshman midfielder Colin Kurdyla, but that would be the only time the Knights led in the contest. No. 10 Penn State responded with a 3-0 scoring run to get in front. Both teams traded goals to end the first quarter, but the Nittany Lions had a 4-3 advantage.
Junior attacker Logan Peters opened the second quarter, netting his 3rd goal of the season to level the game at four apiece. Penn State fired back with a 4-0 scoring run before graduate student midfielder John Sidorski ended the quarter with a tally. At halftime, Rutgers trailed 8-5 but was still in the game.
Both teams traded goals to begin the third quarter, and TJ Malone netted 2 more scores to make it 11-6 heading into the final quarter. The Knights ran out of steam and could not generate any offensive momentum to significantly test the Nittany Lions and force a comeback.
Graduate student attacker Ross Scott and Kurdyla scored consolation goals in the fourth quarter, while Penn State netted 3 goals to seal the win and advance to the semifinals of the Big Ten Tournament. The Nittany Lions will take on Maryland.
In his final game for Rutgers, Scott had 1 goal and two assists. Senior midfielder Shane Knobloch, who could get drafted to play in the Premier Lacrosse League, may have played his last game on the Banks as well. Knobloch had no goal contributions but attempted nine shots and scooped up one ground ball. Kurdyla led the Knights with his third hat trick of the season. Redshirt freshman goalkeeper Cardin Stoller had 18 saves.
Rutgers has now lost the first round of the Big Ten Tournament in back-to-back seasons and has not earned an NCAA Tournament berth since 2022. The Knights will look to bounce back to their previous postseason form next season and will have key players returning, such as Stoller, Kurdyla and Kulas.
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