April 29, 2017
Box Score | Photo Gallery | Video: Mullins OT Goal Gives Rutgers OT Win | Video: Highlights | Video: Postgame Celebration
PISCATAWAY, N.J. - No. 12 Rutgers men's lacrosse celebrated Senior Day and Alumni Appreciation Day with a thriller. Freshman Kieran Mullins scored the game-winning goal in overtime for a 12-11 win over No. 3 Ohio State.
Mullins had three goals on the day, and took a pass from Christian Mazzone and deposited the game-winner on the first possession of overtime. Senior Jeff George set a career-high with three goals. Senior Connor Murphy had two goals and two assists, Casey Rose scored twice, and Mazzone added a goal and three assists.
Rutgers outshot OSU 41-37, but trailed 26-20 on ground balls. Max Edelmann made nine saves between the pipes to earn his 10th win of the season. OSU was led by four goals from Tre Leclaire.
"There was a great atmosphere here at High Point Solutions Stadium here on Senior Day and Alumni Appreciation Day," head coach Brian Brecht said. "This was a must win game for us. What a great way to get a win and allow these seniors to have back-to-back 10 win seasons. I'm certainly very proud of them, not just for today, but for what they've been able to do for this program."
Ohio State jumped out to an early 4-2 lead, but a last minute flurry evened the score after one quarter of action. The Scarlet Knights scored twice in the final 35 second, including a goal as the horn sounded to tie the game at four apiece.
The Buckeyes scored the next two goals to go ahead 6-4, and again the Scarlet Knights had consecutive tallies to even the score.
Rutgers pushed ahead for the first time in the game at 8-7. Jeff George scored three consecutive goals in the game, and Rutgers held Ohio State to just one goal in a span of 20 minutes, taking a 9-7 lead with just over five minutes remaining in the third quarter.
However, OSU answered back with two quick goals, tallying twice in 34 seconds to even the game at 9-9 heading into the fourth quarter.
Casey Rose scored early in the fourth quarter to put the Scarlet Knight in front 10-9. Just 42 seconds later Jules Heningburg tallied for a two-goal lead.
Yet again Ohio State was able to come back and tie the game. Tre Leclaire scored first at 6:13, then tied the game at 11-11 with three minutes to go in regulation.
A key defensive stop kept the game even, as Rutgers man-down unit prevented the Buckeyes from scoring on a chance in the final minutes. RU held the ball at the end of regulation, but could not find the back of the net, and headed into overtime for the second time in a three-game span.
Joe Francisco won the opening faceoff of overtime, giving the home team possession. At 2:19 of the first overtime, Mullins took a pass from Mazzone, wrapped around the net, and deposited the ball in the net to secure the upset.
"Our seniors started this resurgence of Rutgers lacrosse," Brecht said. "To get a top-five win today and position ourselves to be able to go to the NCAA Tournament, our resume has been very strong all year. I'm proud of how our guys have fought through and gotten big wins."
The game marks the regular season finale. The Scarlet Knights will now await the NCAA Selection Show on Sunday, May 7 to determine if they receive an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament.
Postgame Notes
The victory ties a win over No. 3 UMass in 2003 as the highest ranked win in program history.
Rutgers has now won 10 games in back-to-back seasons for the first time in school history. This is the sixth time in program history that Rutgers has won double-digit games.
Rutgers now leads the all-time series against Ohio State 8-2. In two meetings at High Point Solutions Stadium as Big Ten conference rivals, Rutgers has each time beaten a top-10 ranked OSU team.
Jeff George had three goals in a game for the first time
Christian Mazzone had a career-high four points.
Defenseman Alex Bronzo had his first career point with an assist.
Following the game, Rutgers honored eight seniors in a postgame ceremony: Jeff George, Chris Groel, Connor Murphy, Patrick McCabe, Charlie Nicklaus, Collin Scarpello, Christopher Peters and Alex Hatzopoulos.
