LEXINGTON, Va. – Hosting the regular season finale for Senior Day, the VMI lacrosse team looks to keep its playoff hopes alive when the Keydets face Marist College Saturday at 12 p.m. at Drill Field #2.
March to the MAAC Playoffs
The visiting Red Foxes (7-6, 4-4) will also be playing for the final No. 6 spot for the 2024 MAAC Tournament set to begin next Saturday, April 27. VMI last qualified for the postseason in 2022 in their final season in the Southern Conference. Should VMI defeat Marist, the Keydets would only need to hold out for the outcome that Siena (6-7, 4-4) defeats Mount St. Mary's (1-13, 1-7) to guarantee the final spot in the tourney.
Senior Day
The Senior Day ceremony is set to take place at 11:35 a.m. when seniors Owen Houston, Jack Liselli, Luke McDonald, Dylan McNally, Max Redmond, AJ Stamos, Kyle Webster and team manager Hank Faircloth will be recognized for their contributions to the program the past four years.
Game Information
VMI vs. Marist – Saturday, Apr. 20 – 12 p.m. - Live Stats
With seven wins on the year, VMI (7-7, 3-5) has earned its most wins since the 2005 season and tied its most Division I wins since the 1995 campaign out of its 41-year program history. With one more conference win Saturday, the Keydets will have four for the season, the most since the Keydets had five MAAC wins in 2008, also the last time VMI played in the MAAC Tournament.
VMI has scored 173 goals for the year, third most in program history and one behind the 1992 team with at least one game to play.
Junior attack Luke Rusterucci continued his 32-game scoring streak with a goal and two assists on the day versus Quinnipiac last Saturday and has now totaled 30 points in conference games in 2024, tied for second most in program history for a single season.
Rusterucci is currently No. 36 in the country in goals per game averaging 2.57 per contest (5th in MAAC) and No. 24 in the NCAA in assists per game at 2.14 (2nd in MAAC). Together, he is ranked No. 16 individually in points per game at 4.71 per game (1st in MAAC).
About the Red Foxes (7-6, 4-4)
The reigning MAAC regular season champs, Marist's 2024 season hasn't gone according to plan but the Red Foxes look to finish the season strong to qualify for the MAAC Tournament and carry the momentum towards a tournament title.
Marist is coming off three consecutive MAAC wins over Mount St. Mary's, Siena and LIU after dropping three straight to the league's upper tier teams: Quinnipiac (Mar. 23), Sacred Heart (Mar. 27) and Manhattan (Mar. 30).
Joshua Balcarcel is the team's top player leading the team in both goals (26) and assists (19) for a combined 45 points. He has scored two game-winning goals and has 20 groundballs to go with six caused turnovers. Jake Deacy is second with 23 goals for the year and Collin Patrick and Sean Mullan are tied for third with 16 apiece.
Aiden McCaffrey is the top defender with 31 caused turnovers for the season to go with 42 groundballs.
In the cage, goalie Noble Smith has played all but 32 minutes this season and owns an 11.83 goals-against average to go with 157 saves for a .518 save percentage.
