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While most of the focus was on Rutgers’ 17-year NCAA tournament drought when the Scarlet Knights’ name was called on Selection Sunday for the first time since 2004, the program’s most recent, and only, NCAA tournament victory dated back 14 more years.  

In 1990, Rutgers topped Virginia 7-6 in Charlottesville to advance to the NCAA quarterfinals. 

Kyle Kirst was the Scarlet Knights’ goalie. 

Almost 31 years later to the day on the same campus, Colin Kirst starred in between the pipes at Klöckner Stadium and fulfilled his family’s legacy. The Big Ten Goalie of the Year made 17 saves, many of the spectacular variety, against his former team to lift Rutgers to a 12-5 first-round win Saturday over eighth-seeded Lehigh and claim a spot in next week’s NCAA quarterfinals.  

The Scarlet Knights (9-3) will play top-seeded North Carolina next Saturday in Hempstead, N.Y., with a chance to advance to their first-ever final four.

After the win Saturday, Rutgers players raced to get their goalie. 

“Colin was phenomenal,” said seventh year senior attackman Adam Charalambides, who had a first-half hat trick. “What a guy.”

“He would have been on top of the world,” Connor Kirst told USA Lacrosse Magazine’s Matt Hamilton about what his father, who was an institution in the New Jersey lacrosse scene and died suddenly on June 16, 2015, would have thought of him, Colin and their brother Cole, a starting junior attackman for Lehigh, all playing on the same field for the first time. 

Michelle Kirst, their mother, was flanked in the metal stands at Klöckner Stadium by the two youngest Kirst boys, CJ and Caden. After much thought about what attire would placate both sides, she opted for a white polo shirt with Lehigh and Rutgers logos. The Kirsts’ grandfather, Chuck, wore a brown Lehigh shirt, but draped a red polo shirt over his left arm and shoulder to offer a semblance of impartiality. 

The story of the first half, and really the game, was the play of both goalies. Fifth-year Lehigh senior Jake Spence, who Colin Kirst backed up for the last four years, made 13 saves in the first half when Rutgers outshot the Mountain Hawks 30-18. He finished with 17.

Lehigh, which adopted a zone defense for most of the game, dominated the faceoff stripe with Mike Sisselberger, who entered the game winning 79.5 percent of his draws. 

Sisselberger won eight of nine faceoffs in the first half and finished 15-for-19. 

Lehigh, which trailed 5-2 at halftime, struggled to convert its extra opportunities, especially without the services of leading scorer Tommy Schelling, who was ruled out Thursday after reportedly suffering an upper-body injury against Lafayette in the Patriot League semifinals. The Mountain Hawks secured the Patriot League’s automatic qualifier after Loyola forfeited the game because of a positive COVID test amongst Tier 1 personnel.

Rutgers coach Brian Brecht said the Scarlet Knights’ defensive success negated any disadvantage at the stripe. 

“I know a lot of people talk about the faceoffs, but when we make saves and get stops and we clear the ball as efficiently as we had today, those stats don't matter,” Brecht said. 

Two of Colin Kirst’s saves came in the first quarter against his younger brother, who entered the game second on Lehigh with 25 goals. Cole Kirst got payback in the second half after he dodged topside around the left pipe and made it 6-3 with 5:32 left in the third quarter. 

But as was the case most of the afternoon, the Scarlet Knights responded after another save by Colin Kirst. Beyond the saves total, Kirst spearheaded Rutgers’ defense to ignitine transition opportunities. The team’s NASCAR brand of lacrosse lived up to its up-tempo moniker. 

“He does a great job making us confident running,” Connor Kirst said of Brecht, who emphasizes pace at every practice. “That was huge for us today.”

Connor Kirst scored consecutive goals in transition seven seconds apart to build Rutgers’ lead to 10-4 and seal the win. He finished with a hat trick. 

Afterward, Michelle Kirst took a picture of Colin, Connor and Cole standing together on the grass not far from where their father made history 31 years ago. 

“We were just hanging out,” Connor Kirst said of his exchanges with his brothers after the game, noting they hadn’t seen Cole since January. 

The storybook season for Colin and Connor Kirst will continue next weekend when the Scarlet Knights face North Carolina and the nation’s top scoring offense. 

“It’s pretty incredible,” Connor Kirst said. “For Colin too. I don’t know if a lot of people know [about] him playing there for four years and not getting his opportunity, because their goalie is spectacular too. For him to put on that performance today, I’m just so happy for him and our team.”