Finishing his career as one of the best to ever don a Virginia Military Institute men’s lacrosse jersey, senior attackman Luke Rusterucci added the title of All-American to his resume as he was named an Honorable Mention All-American by USA Lacrosse on Thursday.
He is just the third Keydet in VMI’s 43-year program history to be named an All-American, as he joins Stephen Robarge (Third Team, 2012) and Tim Moran (Honorable Mention, 2010) as the only other Keydets to earn the rank.
Rusterucci helped the Keydets go 10-4 this season for one of their best records in program history.
The senior from Peachtree City, Ga., scored 42 goals on the season – a career high – which marks the fifth highest single season total in VMI program history. He tallied 32 assists on the year – second highest in program history for a single season – to combine for 74 points, which breaks the single season points record held by David Hope (72) from the 1988 season.
Rusterucci is the only Keydet in program history to reach the century mark in both career goals (125) and assists (109). He finished third in the NCAA this season in points per game at 5.29, and led VMI to the No. 2-ranked scoring offense in the nation at 14.64 goals per game, a new school single season record.
“Luke Rusterucci’s recognition as a USA Lacrosse All-American is a tremendous honor and a testament to his work ethic, leadership and commitment to excellence on and off the field,” said VMI head lacrosse coach James Purpura. “I’m incredibly proud of his accomplishment – he’s been rightfully noticed by the national lacrosse community. Being just the third player in VMI history to receive this honor, and the first since 2012, Luke has etched his name into our program’s legacy and set a new standard for what it means to be a Keydet.”
Rusterucci finished his VMI tenure with 125 career goals – second highest in program history – to go with 109 career assists, which is the highest career assists total by a large margin (85 by Rob Worrell from 1994-97 is the second- highest total). His 234 combined career points rank second all-time in VMI history, behind only David Hope’s mark of 239 career points from 1986-89.
For more on VMI lacrosse, visit www.vmikeydets.com.
