GAME 5: No. 14 Stony Brook (4-0) vs. No. 7 Rutgers (5-0)
LOCATION	High Point Solutions Stadium  |  Piscataway, N.J.
DATE  | TIME	Friday, March 10  |  6 p.m.
COVERAGE	Live Stats  |  BTN Plus

 STONY BROOK, N.Y. – The No. 14 Stony Brook men's lacrosse team travels to New Jersey Friday night to take on its second top-10 foe of the season in No. 7 Rutgers. Both teams are out to a hot start as neither has dropped a game in 2017. This is the 10^th all-time meeting between the two programs and fourth straight season they have faced off.
 
Stony Brook Notes
- Stony Brook enters the game amidst the best start in program history after topping Fairfield 9-6 in its home opener Saturday.
- Stony Brook knocked off then-No. 10 Brown to earn just the second win over a top-10 team in program history.
- Freshman Cory VanGinhoven has started all four game on attack for the Seawolves and leads the team in scoring (13). He was named America East Rookie of the Week after putting away seven goals against Brown.  
- Senior Ryan Bitzer leads the team in assists with 10 on the year, helping on five goals in the win over St. John's.
- Senior Jay Lindsay is 45-of-87 (.517) on the face-off for the Seawolves.
- Senior Alex Corpolongo was named America East Offensive Player of the Week after the first week of play, tallying five goals and adding four assists through two victories.
- Sophomore Ryland Rees was named to this season's Tewaaraton Award Watch list.
 
Scouting Rutgers
Rutgers enters the game at 5-0 on the season and has won 11 straight games at home, four of which have been over ranked teams. Most recently, the Scarlet Knights topped No. 19 Brown 13-11, over the weekend. They were led by Kieran Mullins' four goals. Rutgers has also faced Fairfield and St. John's this season, picking up road wins against both teams.
The Scarlet Knights have seven players with six-or-more goals on the year. Mullins and Jules Heningburg lead the team with nine goals and 15 points apiece. Joe Francisco is 48-89 (.539) on the face-off this season, also adding 30 ground balls.
 
Series Info
The Seawolves and Scarlet Knights are an even 5-5 in the all-time series and first met in 1994. Rutgers claimed each of the first four match ups in the series. Stony Brook's first win came in 2005, as it topped the Scarlet Knights 13-9 in Piscataway. The Seawolves have taken each of the last four meetings, including last year's 15-6 win over then-No. 16 Rutgers. Alex Corpolongo (Purdys, N.Y.) led the way with four goals as the Seawolves used a five-goals run in the first half and a six-goal spree in the second to secure the victory. This is the fourth straight season the two teams have met.
 
200 Wins
The win over Fairfield on Saturday marked the 200^th of head coach Jim Nagle's 23-year coaching career. Nagle currently sits at 49-39 in his sixth season at Stony Brook and has notched 12-plus wins in each of the last two seasons.
 
Best Start in Program History
Stony Brook is out to the best start in program history, sitting at 4-0 on the season after topping Fairfield over the weekend. The Seawolves got out to a slow start and trailed at the break, but a 5-0 scoring spree in the third quarter proved to be the difference-maker and positioned Stony Brook for the win. The previous best start was the Seawolves' three straight wins to open the 1989 season.
 
In the Polls
The Seawolves continued their climb through the national rankings this week, up four spots to No. 14 after a come-from-behind win in their home opener over the weekend.
 
Immediate Impact
The Seawolves have seen an immediate impact from its freshman class early in the year. Harrison Matsuoka (Calgary, Alberta, Canada), Tom Haun (Sachem, N.Y.), Wayne White (Huntington, N.Y.), Connor Grippe (Setauket, N.Y.) and Cory VanGinhoven (Fort Mill, N.C.) lead the newcomers early on as each has played in every game so far this season. The group has combined for 31 of the team's 60 goals to far this year, and also tallied 11 assists, 20 ground balls and five caused turnovers.
VanGinhoven was recently named America East Rookie of the Week after putting away seven goals against then-No. 10 Brown. He leads the team with 13 goals on the year. Haun has also been an impressive force on offense for the Seawolves after starting the year with four goals against Sacred Heart, he is currently third on the team in scoring.
 
Against Ranked Opponents
The Seawolves sit at 15-82 against teams ranked in the top 20 since the 1989 season, its first at the Division I level. They have now taken down two top 10 opponents, knocking off then-No. 7 Delaware, 19-16, on March 15, 2008 and topping then-No. 10 Brown 25-17 this season. Stony Brook went 2-2 against ranked competition last season as it knocked off then-No. 16 Rutgers (15-6) and No. 12 Hofstra (13-5) in back-to-back games. In addition to the Brown loss, Stony Brook fell at No. 11 Albany, 16-10. This was the second time in Division I program history that the Seawolves had taken down ranked opponents in back-to-back outings, also doing so in 2005.