MLAX Opens B1G Play at Johns Hopkins
Mar 26 | Men's Lacrosse
| Rutgers at No. 19/20 Johns Hopkins | |
| Date | Saturday, March 28, 2015 |
| Time | 2:00 p.m. ET |
| Location | Baltimore, Md. | Homewood Field |
| Television | ESPNU |
| Live Stats | HopkinsSports.com |
| Game Notes | Rutgers| Johns Hopkins | Big Ten Conference |
| Tickets | Tickets |
| RVision | Big Ten Lacrosse Preview |
| Rutgers Info | Quick Facts| Record Book |
| Statistics | Rutgers| Johns Hopkins |
| Social Media | @RUMLAx | Facebook/RutgersMLAX |
Rutgers Game Notes
RVision Preview
PISCATAWAY, N.J. - Rutgers men's lacrosse will achieve a major milestone for the program this Saturday, as the Scarlet Knights will compete in their first ever Big Ten Conference lacrosse game. When RU joined the Big Ten for all sports for the 2014-15 season, men's and women's lacrosse were added as the newest sports for the league as a whole. Johns Hopkins was added to the league as an affiliate member for men's lacrosse, and the contest matching the Scarlet Knights at the Blue Jays at 2 p.m. Saturday will be the first ever Big Ten men's lacrosse game. The game will be nationally televised by ESPNU, with Mike Corey and Ryan Boyle as the announcers.
Rutgers enters the matchup after completing its nonconference portion of the schedule at 4-6. The Scarlet Knights enter the weekend with positive momentum, with wins in two of their last three games by an average victory margin of 12 goals. After a road win at Delaware, RU rebounded from a one-goal loss to No. 10/13 Princeton by trouncing NJIT 21-2 on Friday night.
"There is a renewed energy and excitement in our locker room," head coach Brian Brecht said. "The slate is wiped clean with the start of Big Ten play and we are excited for the second half. We've played our best lacrosse in our last three games, and we want to grow on that going into Big Ten lacrosse."
Rutgers offense threats Scott Bieda and Christian Trasolini each share the team lead with 22 goals, while Bieda also paces the squad with 16 helpers and 38 points. Joe Nardella has also starred for the Scarlet Knights at the faceoff `X'. The senior has won consecutive Big Ten Conference Specialist of the Week honors, and is among the nation's leaders in both faceoffs (155-of-223, 0.695) and ground balls (91).
Johns Hopkins will play its first ever conference game against the Scarlet Knights on Saturday after competing as an independent from 1883-2014. The Blue Jays were ranked No. 5 in the preseason coaches' poll, and was selected as the preseason favorite for the Big Ten title. However, JHU has started the season with a 3-5 record, sliding to No. 19 in the coaches' poll. Four of the Blue Jays' five losses have come against ranked opponents, two of which coming by just one goal. Ryan Brown leads the Hopkins' attack with 24 goals and seven assists for 31 points, and has nation's longest active goal scoring streak at 24 games, tallying 67 goals in that span. A pair of brothers in Wells Stanwick (10-17-27) and Shack Stanwick (13-11-24) also form the JHU offense. In goal, Eric Schneider has played 476 minutes, making 66 saves for a .437 save percentage and 10.71 goals against average.
JHU leads the all-time series against RU 30-4. This is the first matchup between the teams since 1998. RU's last victory over the Blue Jays was a 14-10 win in 1990. The Blue Jays own nine NCAA titles, 29 USILA titles and six ILA titles for a total of 44 national championships.
"When you grow up as a lacrosse player, you want to play at the highest level of the sport," Brecht said. "All of our guys will have that opportunity this Saturday."
