rusterucci vs. LIU
Randall K. Wolf
12
Winner VMI VMI 5-5 (1-3 MAAC)
8
Mount St. Mary's MOUNT-M 1-9 (1-3 MAAC)
Winner
VMI VMI
5-5 (1-3 MAAC)
12
Final
8
Mount St. Mary's MOUNT-M
1-9 (1-3 MAAC)
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 F
VMI VMI 4 3 2 3 12
Mount St. Mary's MOUNT-M 3 1 1 3 8

Game Recap: Lacrosse |

Tight defense lifts VMI to 12-8 win over The Mount

EMMITSBURG, Md. – Tied at 4-4 early in the second period, the VMI lacrosse team outscored host Mount St. Mary's by an 8-4 count the rest of the way en route to a 12-8 victory Wednesday afternoon at Waldron Family Stadium in Emmitsburg, Maryland.
 
With the win, VMI improves to 5-5 on the year and earned its first conference win of the season to move to 1-3 in MAAC play. The loss gives Mount St. Mary's a 1-9 overall record and 1-3 mark in conference action.
 
The VMI defense played an instrumental role in the victory by limiting The Mount's shot selection and forcing several Mountaineer turnovers. In all, The Mount totaled 21 turnovers – at least six due to shot clock violations - to aid in VMI's possession of the ball throughout the contest.


 
With a hat trick on the day to lead VMI in scoring, junior Luke Rusterucci joined VMI's prestigious 70-Goal Club and now has 72 for his career, which is 14th all-time in the VMI record book. He also had a pair of assists and is currently at 71 for his VMI career, which puts him at No. 4 all-time in assists.
 
With a combined 143 points between goals and assists, he has climbed up to No. 7 all time in program history in points as he surpasses Tim Moran '10 for the spot.


 
Of Note
*VMI continues its best start since the 2000 season at 5-5 overall
*VMI has earned five Division I wins thus far – the most to this point of the season since 1995 – and first time VMI has achieved five Division I victories before the end of March
*VMI has won two of the past three games versus The Mount for the first time in the all-time series. Of 29 all-time contests, The Mount has claimed 25 victories
 
VMI Head Coach James Purpura
"I'm incredibly proud of the resilience in this team. We fought hard to get back in the win column and played great complementary lacrosse. It started in the backend - we challenged our guys defensively this week and they stepped up. We were able to play great settled defense, and on multiple stops, we were able to transition into early offense and capitalized on multiple opportunities. Offensively, we were balanced in our scoring. I thought our shooting was much improved from the last few games.
 
"Our extra man was able to capitalize on its opportunities. We battled at the face off X all day with a combined effort from Jack Rogers and Gabe Eichler to finish one face off over .500. We didn't play a perfect game and certainly there are things we need to continue to improve on, but it's always nice when the guys get rewarded for their efforts with a big conference road win. We will get back to Lexington and start preparing for a quick turnaround for another tough conference game Saturday."
 
Game Summary
VMI got off to a quick start in the opening period with a 4-1 lead with goals from Charles Hunt, RJ Wyrick, Rusterucci and Wil Duffy, but The Mount responded late with three goals in 1:30 span to tie it up early in the second quarter.
 
The Keydets settled to take control of the game by scoring three unanswered goals to finish the half to go up 7-4 at the break, including a goal in the final second that rolled into The Mount's net off a shot by sophomore Austin English.
 
After an early Mountaineer goal to start the second half, VMI went on to outscore The Mount 5-3 the rest of the way en route to the big conference victory, the Keydets' first of the season. Ty Yonas (twice), Nash Perry and Rusterucci (twice) put in VMI's goals in the second half to secure the win.


 
Inside the Box Score
*A close contest throughout, VMI won several categories by slim margins: shots (35-34), turnovers (19-21), faceoffs (12-11) and clears (20-21 to The Mount's 18-19)
*VMI converted its sole extra-man opportunity for the day by going 1-for-1 while The Mount did not have any opportunities
*MSM keeper Owen Peters picked up the loss despite two saves in 19 minutes in the cage before he was replaced by Bennett Wright, who logged nine saves in 40 minutes. VMI goalie Adam Norris earned his fifth win of the year by tracking down eight saves on the afternoon
 
Up Next
The Keydets face a quick turnaround as they will play host to MAAC foe Canisius Saturday afternoon. Faceoff is set for a noon start on Drill Field #2 and will be broadcast on ESPN+.
 
 
 



 
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