BETHLEHEM, Pa. – No. 16 Rutgers men's lacrosse earned a road win over a ranked opponent on a cold Wednesday night, downing No. 17 Lehigh 8-7. Kieran Mullins had a game-high five points for the Scarlet Knights (5-2), while Christian Mazzone had two goals and caused three turnovers to drop the Mountain Hawks to 5-2. Jules Heningburg scored the game-winning goal with just over four minutes remaining.

"The strong play of our defense was huge today," head coach Brian Brecht said. "We took care of ourselves and played the way we needed to play against a ranked team on the road. I thought we were sharp and focused. Kieran Mullins was key for us today offensively, and Christian Mazzone was a warrior all over the field."

Shots were even at 25-25 on the day. Lehigh led in ground balls, 26-20, and on faceoffs, 11-8.

Rutgers got out to a 2-0 lead. Mullins scored first after spinning around is defender, then fed Mazzone for a two-goal lead. RU held Lehigh scoreless for the first 11 minutes, but then the Hawks scored twice to tie the game at 2-2 after one quarter of action.

In the second quarter, Casey Rose put RU back in front off of an assist from Ryan Gallgher. Lehigh scored with just eight seconds remaining in the half, sending the game to the intermission at 3-3.

The second half started with each team trading off a pair of extra-man goals. Lehigh briefly took a 4-3 lead, but RU came back with a goal from Tommy Coyne to even the score at 4-4. Just 50 seconds later, Mullins took the ball around the back of the cage and fired it home to give RU the lead back. Owen Mead made it a three-goal run for RU and a 6-4 lead. The Mountain Hawks answered, but Mazzone came right back with a goal, racing around the defense and potting one for a 7-5 lead.

Lehigh won the opening faceoff of the fourth quarter, took the ball down and score to get back within one. Then the Hawks tied the game with 6:30 to play in the fourth.

In a tie game, RU came through with just over four minutes to play for the game-winning tally. Mullins sent a pass in front to Jules Heningburg, and the senior Tewaaraton Award Watch List member finished for the crucial score. The Scarlet Knights defense held tight down the stretch, and clinched the one-goal margin of victory.

Rutgers returns home and will face another ranked foe on Sunday. The Scarlet Knights host No. 12 Syracuse for an eagerly awaited matchup at 1 p.m. Sunday at High Point Solutions Stadium. Tickets are available here.

Postgame Notes

• Mullins had at least five points for the second consecutive game after posting five goals and an assist Saturday at Princeton.
• Mazzone had multiple goals for the fourth straight game and had a season high three caused turnovers.
• Heningburg tied Chris Heffernan (1981-84) with 96 career goals, placing him 10^th all-time at RU.
• In the first matchup of these two programs since 1990, RU won for the 13th straight time, and now lead the all-time series 39-6-1.