Rutgers Men’s Lacrosse Defeats St. John’s in Commanding Road Performance

Scarlet Knights Men’s Lacrosse explodes for 19 Goals in dominant road win

Rutgers Scarlet Knights Men’s Lacrosse | Mark Smith-Imagn Images

The Rutgers Scarlet Knights men’s lacrosse team delivered a statement victory on the road this week. They single-handedly overwhelmed the St. John’s Red Storm with a commanding 19–4 performance. With the victory, Rutgers improves to 6–2 on the season and continues to build momentum as the schedule progresses.

Colin Kurdyla Delivers Historic Performance for Rutgers

This matchup quickly turned into a dominant display for Rutgers, one that echoed last season’s offensive explosion against the same opponent.

At the end of three quarters, #RUMLax leads 15-3

Colin Kurdyla leads RU with 11-points, 4 goals and 7 assists, the most points for any RU player since 1993 pic.twitter.com/k09GBCP3fC

— Rutgers Men's LAX (@RUmlax) March 10, 2026

The biggest storyline of the night belonged to Colin Kurdyla. He produced one of the most remarkable single-game performances in Rutgers lacrosse history. The standout attacker finished the game with four goals and seven assists, totaling an eye-popping 11 points.

That total places his performance among the most significant in the program’s record books. The 11 points were the most by a Rutgers player in a single game since 1993. The performance also ties for the fourth-most points ever recorded by a Scarlet Knight in a single game. Kurdyla’s seven assists also made history.

That number tied for the sixth-most assists in a game in program history. And not just that, it also represented the highest single-game assist total for Rutgers since 1997. The milestone night carried another important achievement for Kurdyla. With his scoring outburst, he officially surpassed the 100 career points mark.

One of the primary beneficiaries of Kurdyla’s playmaking was Haydn Sommer, who enjoyed a career-best performance of his own. Sommer recorded five goals and added an assist, finishing the night with six points.

His five-goal outing marked the first time a Rutgers player reached that scoring mark in a single game since 2022. It was when Ross Scott scored eight goals during an NCAA Tournament run. Colin Kelly added a hat trick, scoring three goals during the game, while Evan Large contributed two goals.

The Scarlet Knights opened the scoring when Colin Kelly fired home a feed from Kurdyla. Shortly afterward, JJ Aiello returned to action after missing time since the January 31 season opener. In his first appearance in six weeks, Aiello powered his way through the defense and scored to give Rutgers a 2–0 lead.

Rutgers won the first four faceoffs and dominated the early shot count, taking 14 of the first 15 attempts. By the end of the first quarter, Rutgers had already built a commanding 6–1 lead. Goals came from Justin Lawler, Haydn Sommer, Kasey Mongillo, and Greyson Vorgang. Six different players scored during the opening period alone, while Kurdyla had already recorded three assists.

Colin Kelly scored again early in the quarter to push the lead to 7–1, as Rutgers continued to control possession and outshoot St. John’s by a wide margin. Adrian Nowak briefly gave St. John’s a moment of hope with his second goal of the game, cutting the score to 7–2. Rutgers immediately responded, closing the half with a dominant five-goal run.

Looking at Their Defensive Dominance and Total Control

By halftime, both Kelly and Sommer had already completed their hat tricks. Kurdyla entered the locker room with seven points in the first half alone, recording two goals and five assists. Rutgers carried a massive 12–2 lead into the break, effectively deciding the outcome before the second half even began.

While the offense delivered the highlight plays, Rutgers’ defense quietly dominated the game as well.

Goalkeeper Cardin Stoller anchored the unit with an outstanding performance between the pipes. Through the first three quarters, Stoller posted a 67 percent save rate, making six saves while allowing only three goals.

Rutgers outshot St. John’s by a staggering 57–23 margin. The defense forced 30 turnovers and nine failed clears, repeatedly disrupting the Red Storm’s attempts to build offensive momentum. The Scarlet Knights won 18 of 27 faceoffs.

John Scarelli led the charge at the faceoff dot, winning 12 of his 17 attempts and helping Rutgers dominate time of possession throughout the contest. The Scarlet Knights outscored St. John’s 4–1 in the third quarter and 3–1 in the fourth quarter, sealing the commanding 19–4 victory.

Over the past five meetings, Rutgers has outscored the Red Storm by a combined margin of 100–37. The team has also scored at least 19 goals in four straight games against St. John’s and six of the last nine matchups.

With the victory, the Scarlet Knights improve to 19–5 all-time in road games against St. John’s. The Scarlet Knights will now return home to SHI Stadium on Saturday, March 14. That's where they will face the Bellarmine Knights in their final home non-conference game of the season.

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