PISCATAWAY, N.J. – No. 7 Rutgers men's lacrosse takes a conference road trip to the nation's top team, as they will take on No. 1 Maryland on Sunday night at 7 p.m. in College Park, Md. The game will be televised nationwide on Big Ten Network, with Pete Medhurst and Mark Dixon on the call.

The Scarlet Knights (8-3, 1-1 Big Ten) are coming off a convincing 16-8 win over Michigan, their largest margin of victory ever in Big Ten Conference play. Kieran Mullins posted 10 points in that game (eight goals, two assists). He was named Big Ten Offensive Player of the Week and to the USILA Team of the Week, joining two others in earning weekly honors. Senior goalkeeper Max Edelmann made 14 saves and was named Big Ten Specialist of the Week. Senior defenseman Michael Rexrode was named Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week, and the Senior CLASS Award Finalist was also added to the Tewaaraton Award Watch List this week as well.

"You want to be playing your best lacrosse in conference play," head coach Brian Brecht explained. "I'm happy that it's the middle of April and we're getting better each week. Maryland has a lot of talented players. They are very fundamentally sound. We need to make sure we are sharp and limit our mistakes in order to have success."

Rutgers honored 14 seniors in Senior Day ceremonies following the Michigan game. That group includes five starters in Jules Heningburg, Christian Mazzone, Michael Rexrode, Alex Bronzo and Max Edelmann, key short-stick midfielders in Christian Scarpello, Chad Toliver and Austin Divitcos, two faceoff men in Joe Francisco and Alex Schoen, and Christian Trasolini, who has 48 career starts. They have combined for 34 wins, the third most of any RU senior class, and just two off the program record of 36, done by the 1989 senior class.

"We have some great leaders in this senior class," Brecht said. "They're helping us play our best lacrosse right now and be trending in the right direction towards the month of May."

Jules Heningburg enters the game with 192 career points, currently seventh all-time at Rutgers. He is just 10 points away from tying for 2^nd place all-time and needs just four points Sunday to move into fourth place.

"I think this will be a big time showdown," Heningburg said. "We just view this as another challenge for us, to go down and play there on the road in a Big Ten game. We need to prepare well, and we'll be ready to go down there and play our best lacrosse in that atmosphere and showcase what we can do."

Christian Mazzone has now scored in 15 consecutive games, having scored in every game since moving from short-stick to starting offensive midfield. That is the longest streak for any midfielder in the nation. He also currently shares the team lead with 30 ground balls.

Maryland enters the matchup at 9-1 on the season and 2-0 in Big Ten play. UM's lone loss came to then-No. 1 Albany. Midfielder Connor Kelly leads the team with 28 goals, 24 assists and 52 points, and is currently second in the Big Ten in assists and points, trailing just Heningburg in the category.

The defending national champions replaced all three starting attackman from last season, with sophomore Jared Bernhardt (27 goals) and redshirt freshman Logan Wisnauskas (24 goals) settling into roles there. Freshman Justin Shockey is at 55 percent on faceoffs, while Dan Morris has a .546 save percentage and 8.42 goals-against average.  

The Terrapins lead the nation with just 9.5 turnovers per game. Their man-up offense is second in the country with a 60% success rate.

Rutgers will be looking for their first win over the Terrapins since 1980, with Maryland holding a 29-1 all-time advantage. Two of the four matchups since both joined the Big Ten have been one-goal games. Last season, the two squads battled into triple overtime. Max Edelmann made what was then his career-high 15 saves to keep the game alive into the third extra session. In that game, Heningburg led RU with four points (a goal and three assists).

Facing the No. 1 team in the nation, RU is looking for the program's highest ever ranked win. Currently, RU's highest ranked win has come twice against the No. 3 team (15-14 win over No. 3 Ohio State in 2017, 12-9 over No. 3 UMass in 2003). The Scarlet Knights are 10-8 against ranked teams since the start of 2016, including six wins in their last eight games against ranked foes. The last time a Rutgers program beat the No. 1 team in the nation was 2015, when the women's soccer team beat No. 1 Virginia in the NCAA Tournament.

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.