PISCATAWAY, N.J. - Six former Rutgers men's lacrosse players saw action as the 2018 Major League Lacrosse regular season concluded this past weekend. After a program record three players were selected in the 2018 MLL Draft, Jules Heningburg and Michael Rexrode made their debuts as rookies this season for the Florida Launch. They were joined by in the professional ranks by their former teammates Scott Bieda and Joe Nardella, along with Justin Pennington and Chris Mattes.
 
Scott Bieda
2018 MLL: Played in five games for the Boston Cannons with four ground balls.
MLL Career: Played in 17 games with seven goals and 15 assists for 22 points and collected 16 ground balls.
At Rutgers: Was a Third-Team All-American as a senior. Named Big Ten Offensive Player of the Year in 2016 and was a two-time First Team All-Big Ten selection, as well as earning Second Team All-BIG EAST honors as a sophomore. He finished his career On the Banks sixth in RU history with 103 assists and 193 points.
 
Jules Heningburg
2018 MLL: The first round draft pick played in eight games for the Florida Launch as a rookie. Scored 15 goals with 10 assists for 25 points. Also had five ground balls. His best game was four goals and three assists for seven points vs. Denver.
At Rutgers: Was a two-time All-American and two-time First Team All-Big Ten selection. Finished his career second all-time at Rutgers in points (207), seventh in goals (117) and eighth in assists (90).
 

Thank you to @florida_launch for an amazing rookie season! I met some awesome teammates and coaches , made some great friends and had a lot fun playing! Being out the last 3 games because of a concussion was very difficult for me because I finally got the hang of things and wanted nothing more than to be out there to help my team in the last push for the playoffs. Although we did not make it, they battled very hard, and it was a privilege to have played with these guys. Thank you Coach @paceunivlax for taking a chance on me. It means everything. All I ever needed in my career was for someone to believe in me like I believe in myself, and I am grateful to have had that opportunity because of you. Until next time 🤞🏽

A post shared by Jules Heningburg (@julesheningburg) on Aug 6, 2018 at 8:03am PDT

Chris Mattes
2018 MLL: Played in one game for New York and one game for Florida, taking 32 faceoffs.
MLL Career: Played in 53 games over eight seasons, was 609-of-1325 on faceoffs (46%), scored two goals and collected 228 ground balls.
At Rutgers: Named an Honorable Mention All-American in 2011. Was also a First Team All-BIG EAST selection that year after leading the conference with a 63.5% mark on faceoffs.
 

Just like that the MLL season is over for the @atlantablazemll. Although we came up short of our goal, I loved every second of my time in ATL. Can't wait to keep climbing. Thanks to everyone who helped make it possible. 📺@gasdigitalproductions

A post shared by Joe Nardella (@jnardss) on Aug 6, 2018 at 8:29am PDT

Joe Nardella
2018 MLL: Played in first four games for Boston Cannons, where he was 60-of-110 (54.5%) on faceoffs and had one goal and 34 ground balls. Was traded to the Atlanta Blaze, where he played nine games, was 157-265 (59.2%) on faceoffs, with four goals and 76 ground balls. He named to the All-Star team for the second time in his career, and was also named MLL Defensive Player of the Week on July 5 after winning 22 faceoffs in a win over Charlotte. For the year he was 217-of-375 (57.8%) on faceoffs, which was the second best mark in the league. He also recorded a league-leading 110 ground balls.
MLL Career: Has played in 40 games over four seasons. He is 642-of-1144 (56.1%) on faceoffs, with 19 ground balls and 317 ground balls.
At Rutgers: As a senior was a Third Team All-American, Big Ten Specialist of the Year and First Team All-Big Ten. Was a two-time All-BIG EAST selection. Won 760-of-1,222 faceoffs (62.2%).
 

What it's all about #ATL pic.twitter.com/5jKzgjH775

— Joe Nardella (@JNardss) July 30, 2018

Justin Pennington
2018 MLL: Played in 14 games for the Atlanta Blaze, recording one goal and 12 ground balls.
MLL Career: Played in exactly 100 games over nine seasons, recording 53 goals, 21 assists, 74 points, and 155 ground balls.
At Rutgers: Was a two-time Honorable Mention All-American. A 2008 and 2009 First Team All-ECAC and 2010 First Team All-BIG EAST selection, Pennington led the squad in assists his final three years in a Scarlet Knights uniform.
 
Michael Rexrode
2018 MLL: The Second Round draft pick played in three games for the Florida Launch as a rookie, including starting in his debut, and picked up two ground balls.
At Rutgers: Was a two-time All-American and two-time First Team All-Big Ten selection. The 2018 Big Ten Medal of Honor selection with named Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year.
 
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