PISCATAWAY, N.J. – No. 11 Rutgers men's lacrosse heads to the Big Ten Tournament this week. RU will face No. 2 ranked Maryland in Thursday's semifinals at 4 p.m. at Michigan Lacrosse Stadium. The game will be televised nationwide by Big Ten Network, with Joe Beninati and Mark Dixon on the call. The game will be televised nationwide by Big Ten Network, with Joe Beninati and Mark Dixon on the call. WRSU will also have the radio call. 

"We have to take care of ourselves," head coach Brian Brecht said. "We have some good players; we have the leadership of 14 seniors. This senior class has been great; they've brought Rutgers lacrosse to a whole other level. This team has played in a lot of big lacrosse games so far. All of our goals are still right there in front of us."

Rutgers enters the matchup at 9-5 overall and 2-3 in Big Ten play, earning the fourth seed in the tournament. The team is led offensively by First Team All-Big Ten selection Jules Heningburg, who led the Big Ten in assists (33) and points (69), and was second in goals (36). Defensively, Michael Rexrode was named Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year and First Team All-Conference after recording 23 ground balls and leading RU to a Big Ten leading 6.4 caused turnovers per game. Christian Mazzone was named Second Team All-Big Ten after setting a career-high with 28 goals and 37 points. Additionally, Kieran Mullins led the Big Ten with 15 goals in conference games and Max Edelmann holds a 9.34 goals-against average.

"We just need to maintain our composure," Rexrode said. "We've definitely taken steps forward in that area. We'll stick to our gameplan and trust each other.

With a win, Rutgers will have beaten five ranked teams this year, tying the program record (also done in 2003). Rutgers' senior class would reach 36 wins, which would tie the record set by the 1989 class. It would be the highest ranked team Rutgers has ever beaten (previously done twice versus the No. 3 team, last against No. 3 Ohio State in 2017). RU is looking to reach double-digit wins for the third consecutive year and only the seventh time in program history.

Maryland enters the matchup 11-2 on the year, and 4-1 in the Big Ten, earning the regular season title and top seed in the tournament with a triple overtime win Saturday at rival Johns Hopkins. Big Ten Offensive Player of the Year Connor Kelly has a league leading 36 goals and has 66 points. First Team All-Big Ten selection Jared Bernhardt has added 30 goals. In between the pipes, Dan Morris is second in the league with an 8.54 goals-against-average. Maryland leads the nation with just 9.46 turnovers per game and is second in the country with a 60 percent conversion rate on the man-up.

This is RU's second trip to the Big Ten Tournament since joining the league in 2015. In 2016, Rutgers downed Johns Hopkins 14-12 in the semifinals before falling to Maryland 14-8 in the championship game.

Rutgers is 1-30 all-time against the Terrapins. This season, RU was edged 11-10 in College Park despite three goals from Mazzone and four points from Heningburg and Casey Rose. The past two contests between these teams have been decided by just one goal, including a triple overtime game in 2017. Three of the six matchups between the two teams since both joined the Big Ten have been determined by just one goal. The Scarlet Knights are looking for their first win over the Terps since 1980.  

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