PISCATAWAY, N.J. – No. 9 Rutgers men's lacrosse will conclude its regular season schedule with a contest Saturday at 4 p.m. at No. 19 Ohio State. The game will be televised nationwide by Big Ten Network, with Mike Monaco and Greg Bice on the call.

With a win, Rutgers can clinch a bid into the 2018 Big Ten Tournament. RU can also ensure a tournament bid with a loss by Penn State in their contest against Michigan (11 a.m. Saturday).

"We control our own destiny and we're still in a good spot," head coach Brian Brecht said. "We have a Big Ten game on Saturday in which we need to take care of ourselves to have success. We need to execute the things that we do well, extremely well. The Big Ten is an elite lacrosse conference with the best teams in the country competing against each other. It's going to be a hard fought game. We have 14 seniors and some young guys that aren't playing like freshmen anymore. If we take care of ourselves, we'll have success."

Rutgers (9-4, 2-2 Big Ten) is led by senior Jules Heningburg, who was named a Tewaaraton Award Semifinalist, as he leads the team with 34 goals and paces the Big Ten Conference with 31 assists and 65 points. Fellow attackman, sophomore Kieran Mullins has 14 goals in Big Ten games, leading the conference in that category.

Defensively, 2017 All-American Michael Rexrode was named Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week for the second time in conference play. He spearheaded RU's defensive effort in last week's 11-8 win over No. 11 Penn State, while goalkeeper Max Edelmann made 11 saves. In his first year as a starter, redshirt freshman defenseman Garrett Bullett leads that unit with 24 ground balls.

"It was great to get a Big Ten win last week against Penn State," Bullett said. "That gives us a lot of energy going into this game at Ohio State. We need to just stick with what we're good on, focusing on us. We really thrive against the opportunity to rise to the occasion against these Big Ten teams."

With a win, Rutgers will have beaten five ranked teams this year, tying the program record (also done in 2003). Rutgers' senior class would reach 36 wins, which would tie the record set by the 1989 class. It would Rutgers' first ever ranked win in a true road game in Big Ten Conference action. Rutgers last ranked win in a road conference game came on March 27, 2010 a 10-8 win at No. 11 Notre Dame.

Ohio State (7-6, 1-3 Big Ten) earned a win at No. 1 Maryland last week. The team boasts the top defense in the conference, allowing just 8.82 goals per game behind Tewaaraton Semifinalist defenseman Ben Randall, and notching the nation's best clearing percentage (93.7%). Tre Leclaire leads them offensively with 24 goals and 34 points, while Justin Inacio is at 57% at the faceoff 'X'.

Rutgers is 8-2 all-time against the Buckeyes, including winning two out of three matchups since joining the Big Ten Conference. Those wins came over Ohio State teams ranked No. 3 and No. 10 in the nation. Last season, RU concluded its season with a statement 12-11 victory over the No. 3 Buckeyes in overtime, with Kieran Mullins scoring the game-winning goal. The series traces its first meeting to 1953, then was played six times in the 1990s before resuming in the Big Ten Conference.

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