2023 Men's Top 30: How Rutgers Fared vs. Projections

Before USA Lacrosse Magazine looks ahead to what’s to come in 2024, our team of staff and contributors decided it was worth taking one last look at 2023.

After all, you have to look at the most recent results before making projections for what’s to come. To do that, we’re taking a journey through the top 30 teams in men’s and women’s lacrosse — what went right, what went wrong and what we should all think of that team’s season.

Was it a success? A failure? A mixture of both? You’ll find out our thoughts over the next month or so.

RUTGERS MEN’S LACROSSE

Nike/USA Lacrosse Preseason/Final Top 20 Ranking: 10/17
2023 record: 8-6 (1-4 Big Ten)

WHAT WENT RIGHT

Coming off the program’s first NCAA semifinal appearance, Rutgers started 7-1. The Scarlet Knights beat four conference champions (Marist, Michigan, Princeton and Utah) and split with the two Patriot League finalists. Long pole Ethan Rall earned first-team All-American honors, while midfielder Shane Knobloch (21 G, 17 A) collected a second-team nod.

WHAT WENT WRONG

There just wasn’t enough depth to either offset attackman Brian Cameron’s injury (he led the Scarlet Knights in goals with 26 despite missing three games and much of a fourth) or allow Brian Brecht to unleash the transition game that has fueled a chunk of Rutgers’ success in recent years. Scoring became extremely difficult against a difficult Big Ten schedule; the Scarlet Knights shot 22.2 percent while going 1-5 against league foes.

SEASON HIGHLIGHT

Pick one of two overtime winners — Dante Kulas’ goal 78 seconds into extra time to down Princeton on March 11, or Knobloch’s tally just 38 seconds into sudden death to defeat Michigan on April 7.

VERDICT

Rutgers got caught up in the mundane reality of sports: Not every year is going to be magical, as the Scarlet Knights were reminded throughout April. But they were still on the periphery of the NCAA tournament conversation until a string of conference tournament upsets, and while it was a step back, it wasn’t a program collapse, either.