March 14, 2017
Rutgers Game Notes
PISCATAWAY, N.J. - No. 5 Rutgers men's lacrosse hosts its third straight ranked foe with an in-state showdown against rival No. 15 Princeton on Wednesday night. The game, which was moved back a day from Tuesday due to Winter Storm Stella, will start at 7 p.m. and be live streamed on BTN Plus.
The series against Princeton is longest running in RU history. The teams will meet for the 95th time, with the Tigers leading the all-time series 61-29-3. The last Rutgers win in the series came in 2005, an 8-5 home win. The squads play for the Meistrell Cup, named in honor of U.S. Lacrosse Hall of Famer Harland (Tots) Meistrell, who restarted the lacrosse programs at both schools in the early 1920s.
The Scarlet Knights have started the season unbeaten at 6-0, with four wins over teams to be ranked at some point this season. Rutgers has also won 12 straight game at High Point Solutions Stadium dating back to 2015. RU defeated No. 13 Brown 13-11 at No. 14 Stony Brook 17-4 in the last two games.
RU is led offensively by reigning two-time Big Ten Freshman of the Week Kieran Mullins, who paces the squad with 12 goals, nine assists and 21 points this season. He had a career-high six points (three goals, three assists) in the win over No. 14 Stony Brook last Friday night. Fellow starting attackmen in Tewaaraton Award Watch List member Jules Heningburg (11 goals, eight assists, 19 points) and senior Connor Murphy (10 goals, seven assists, 17 points) follow him. With starting midfielder Jeff George and Casey Rose trailing them with nine apiece, the Scarlet Knights have seven players with at least five goals this season. RU has outscored its opponents 78-41 this season.
Defensively, the Scarlet Knights have locked down opponents under first-year defensive coordinator John Gorman, boasting the number three scoring defense in the nation at 6.17 goals-against per game after finishing last season 29th. Rutgers also sits number four nationally in ground balls (36/game) and man-down defense (.833). Between the pipes, Max Edelmann is third in the nation with a 6.79 goals-against-average and boasts a .588 save percentage. In his career, Rutgers is 9-0 with Edelmann starting. Two-time Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week Michael Rexrode leads the conference with 2.33 caused turnovers/game. Reigning Defensive Player of the Week LSM Kyle Pless is second at 1.5 caused turnovers/game and Alex Bronzo is third at 1.4. Senior Chris Groel leads the defense with 27 ground balls.
Princeton sits at 4-1, jumping into the national rankings after a convincing 18-7 win over then-No. 3 Johns Hopkins. The Tigers' lone loss came to now-No. 11 Hofstra. The leading goal scorer for PU is Austin Sims with 14, while Michael Sowers has 11 goals and 15 assists for a team-high 26 points. Zach Currier is at 63 percent on faceoffs with 40 ground balls along with eight goals and 11 assists. In goal, Tyler Blaisdell has a 8.38 goals-against-average and .622 save percentage.
Princeton is led by first year full-time head coach Matt Madalon, who was promoted to full-time after a 3-2 record last season as the interim boss. On his staff is defensive coordinator Jesse Bernhardt, who spent the last two seasons on Rutgers staff.
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