April 14, 2016
PISCATAWAY, N.J. - No. 16 Rutgers men's lacrosse plays at No. 4 Maryland on Saturday afternoon with first place in the Big Ten on the line. The Scarlet Knights (9-2, 2-0 Big Ten) bring a four-game winning streak to College Park for the 4 p.m. game against the Terrapins (8-2, 2-0 Big Ten). The game will be live streamed on BTN Plus. The trip is the first game Rutgers will play this season outside of New Jersey and New York.
"There's a lot of excitement in the locker room and on the practice field," head coach Brian Brecht said. "This conference is very exciting for all of our guys that put on that jersey on game days. We have a great opportunity coming up this week. The coaches have done a great job game-planning. The focus has been sharp in practice. We're getting better each week and these are the type of big games that all that work has been leading up to."
Rutgers has been rolling to start conference play, outscoring opponents 29-15 in victories over then-No. 9 Johns Hopkins and Michigan. In the past four games, all RU wins, the Scarlet Knights have outscored their foes 60-29. Senior goalkeeper Kris Alleyne has come on in that span, posting a 7.20 goals-against average and .614 save percentage over that span.
The starting attack line for RU has continued to excel. The trio of Scott Bieda (22 goals-27 assists- 49 points), Adam Charalambides (30-13-43) and Jules Heningburg (27-14-41) has combined for 57 percent of the team's points this season. A redshirt freshman, Charalambides is one of two freshmen in country with 30-plus goals (joining Colin Burke of Fairfield). Bieda is working his way up the Rutgers records board, currently sitting 7th all-time in assists (92) and 9th all-time in points (176). He also boasts a 31-game point scoring streak and leads the Big Ten with 4.45 points per game.
RU has also been excelling on the man-up of late, with Ryan Hollingsworth scoring four goals in conference play on the extra-man and leading the B1G in man-up goals. UMD has allowed just five goals on 24 EMO chances, a 20% rate that marks second in the nation.
Maryland enters the game on a seven-game winning streak, with both of their Big Ten games being one-goal victories (8-7 at Michigan, 11-10 in OT at No. 14 Penn State). The Terps' two losses came against then-No. 7 Yale and No. 1 Notre Dame.
Last season, Maryland went 15-4 and was the NCAA National Runner-Up, falling to Denver in the National Championship. The two teams met last season in Piscataway on April 12, where RU and then-No. 3 Maryland went down to the wire, with the Terrapins eking out a 9-8 win on a goal with 13 seconds remaining. Christian Trasolini and Jeff George each scored twice in the game. Overall, Maryland holds a 23-2 lead in the all-times series, which dates back to 1931. RU collected victories in 1949 and 1980. Last season's matchup was the first meeting between the teams since 1998.
The game will match the two top goalkeepers in the league in terms of goals-against-average: Rutgers' Alleyne (8.17 GAA) and UMD's Kyle Bernlohr (7.75 GAA). Maryland also boasts the league's top faceoff man (Austin Henningsen, .623 percent) and are led offensive by Matt Rambo (19 goals, eight assists) and Bryan Cole (13 goals, 14 assists), who each have 27 points.
Facing No. 4 Maryland, Rutgers is looking for its highest ranked win since beating No. 4 Syracuse on April 17, 2004. Rutgers hasn't gotten two top-five victories in a season since 2003 (No. 3 UMass and No. 4 Syracuse). That season was also the last time Rutgers reached 10 wins.
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.
