April 11, 2008

By Chris Melchiorre Daily Targum

April 11, 2008

New Brunswick, NJ (UWIRE) -- "We're at a real crossroad right now," Rutgers men's lacrosse head coach Jim Stagnitta said.

As Stagnitta prepares his team to face Syracuse, the No. one team in the country, he points out that it was only a year ago that the Orange were not far off from where the Scarlet Knights are now.

"I look at them last year and they were 5-8," Stagnitta said. "But it's a process, it's what we're going through now. This is the most talented group of kids we've had since I've been here, but we're just not quite where we need to be yet."

Following a tough 15-3 loss to conference rival Loyola last Saturday that left the Knights buried in the division and allowed the Greyhounds to stay perfect and all but seal a spot in the NCAA tournament, RU (4-5, 2-2) knows that while that loss may have put a serious damper on the '08 season, in the big picture, the team can ultimately use this experience to help them in the future.

"Obviously, Saturday was a disappointment," Stagnitta said, "but it's something that we feel we can learn and get better from ... Teams are never as great as they are on their best day and they're never as bad as they are on they're worst.

The Knights will need to bring their best game to Yurcak Field this Saturday as Syracuse comes into the game with a 9-1 record with their only loss having occured March 1 in an overtime loss to third-ranked Virginia.

Although some would consider it a curse to have to bounce back from a 15-3 loss by facing the number one team in the country, RU looks at it as just another challenge and not one that they're prepared to shy away from.

"We enjoy challenging ourselves," Stagnitta said. "We play a top ten schedule every year, that's one of the reasons kids come to play lacrosse at Rutgers."

Next year will be the first year that the Knights will come into the season with four full scholarship classes. So RU is not worried about a lack of opportunities in the future, and one of the Knights' focuses during this final stretch will be to grow and mature as a team. But RU has certainly not given up on its chances in '08.

"We have four games left," Stagnitta said. "If we win four games, we've beaten four talented opponents and two top 10 teams and we'd be in great position. If we win three, we've still beaten a top 10 team and we'd still be in the mix. There's still opportunity for us to finish the year strong."

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