From Lacrosse Reference…
Putting it all together, this Rutgers roster looks like one with a fairly high variance band. The offense brings back almost everything and has clear candidates for internal improvement, but it needs those efficiency gains to move from a 33rd‑percentile unit to something more in line with the defense. The defense and faceoff units, which were genuine strengths last year, both have to replace unusually large chunks of proven, high‑end production—Paolatto, Barnard, Mack, and Mendyke are not plug‑and‑play losses. With Stoller back in net and a high‑ceiling transfer in Rainero at the X, there are real paths for Rutgers to keep its upward march going. But there's also more uncertainty than you'd normally expect from a “solid program coming off a solid year,” especially in two phases of the game that carried them last season. How quickly the new faces settle in on defense and how well the faceoff situation stabilizes will probably determine whether this group just holds serve or takes the next step.
