PISCATAWAY, N.J. - No. 13 Rutgers men's lacrosse earned a 12-7 win on Saturday afternoon over Fairfield. The Scarlet Knights closed the game strong, scoring the last four goals of the game.
Jules Heningburg led the Scarlet Knights with four goals and two assists for six points. The returning All-American now leads RU with 11 goals, 10 assists and 21 points through four games.
Christian Mazzone added two goals and two assists, while sophomore
Owen Mead scored twice.
Max Edelmann made 11 saves in goal for RU.
Kieran Mullins,
Tommy Coyne,
Mark Christiano and
Christian Scarpello also scored for RU. Christiano's goal was RU's first man-down goal of the season.
"We really battled today," head coach
Brian Brecht said. "We won our ground ball matchups. We did a good job making saves and on clears, which allowed us to get the opportunities we needed on offense. Down the stretch we did a good job finishing. These games in February provide us with a lot of learning opportunities as we continue to work to get better."
Rutgers led in shots (39-34) and ground balls (32-22). Rutgers was 18-of-20 on clears and won 12-of-23 faceoffs.
Garrett Bullett and
Michael Rexrode each had two caused turnovers.
The home team scored the first goal of the game just 2:20 into the contest and never trailed. Sophomore
Owen Mead tallied twice in the first half, extending the lead to 4-1. The Stags rallied back to cut the RU lead to 4-3, but Heningburg responded with a goal to give Rutgers a 5-3 lead at halftime.
Heningburg had the next two goals for RU, and Mazzone tallied, while Fairfield continued to answer, making it a 8-7 Scarlet Knights lead with eight minutes remaining in the contest.
The final minutes belonged to the Scarlet Knights, as Rutgers closed out the contest by scoring the final four goals to clinch the victory. First it was Mullins for a 9-7 lead, followed by a
Tommy Coyne goal just 15 seconds later. Scarpello and Heningburg's fourth of the game iced the five-goal margin of victory.
The Scarlet Knights improve to 3-1 on the season, and will travel to Brown next for a contest on Saturday.
Follow Rutgers Athletics on Facebook (www.facebook.com/RutgersAthletics) and Twitter (@RUAthletics) for all of the latest news and updates. For specific updates regarding Rutgers men's lacrosse, follow the program and Brecht on Twitter (@RUMLax and @RUlaxCoach) and Facebook. Fans can receive timely information, including special offers and giveaways throughout the year on our social media outlets along with www.ScarletKnights.com.
Postgame Notes
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Owen Mead had the first multi-goal game of his career.
- Heningburg had his 13th career game with at least three goals. He extends his point-scoring streak to 27 games.
- Bullett's two caused turnovers was a career-high.
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Kyle Pless had a career-high six ground balls.
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Joe Francisco was 11-of-18 on faceoffs.
