PISCATAWAY, N.J. - No. 18 Rutgers will play its second straight ranked opponent at home when it welcomes No. 1 Loyola on Saturday at 2 p.m. The game will be streamed live on BTN2GO on the Fox Sports App; then televised nationwide by Big Ten Network on tape-delay at 4 pm, with Scott Sudikoff on play-by-play and Mark Dixon providing the analysis. There will also be radio coverage of the game by WRSU (88.7 FM) and LacrosseTalkRadio. There will also be a t-shirt giveaway for fans.
ABOUT RUTGERS: The Scarlet Knights are 2-1 on the season, opening the year with wins over Lafayette (14-8) and at St. John's (19-15) before falling in a tight one-goal game to No. 19 Army (10-9).
Kieran Mullins has led the team offensively with 12 goals, which ranks second in the conference and fourth in the nation. RU leads the league in ground balls per game (38.67). LSM
Garrett Michaeli has collected 13 ground balls, the most in the Big Ten among non-faceoff specialists. The Scarlet Knights have utilized a variety of new players this year. Five different players (
Mark Schachte,
David Sprock,
Michael Sanguinetti,
Cole Daninger,
Robert Marron) have recorded their first career points, while six players (Sprock, Sanguinetti,
Kyle Pless,
Jack Stahanczyk,
Joe Peterson and
Ben Pounds) have made their first career starts.
ABOUT LOYOLA: After being ranked No. 4 in the preseason, Loyola has risen to the consensus top spot in the polls following wins over No. 6 Virginia (17-9) and at No. 15 Johns Hopkins (18-12). The Greyhounds are paced by three-time All-American attackman Pat Spencer, who has eight goals and six assists through two games. Fellow attackman Kevin Lindley has added nine goals. In net, Jacob Stover has a 10.5 goals-against-average and .588 save percentage.
ABOUT THE SERIES: Rutgers and Loyola have played 10 times, with Loyola taking the contest in nine of them. The teams played five times between 1990 and 1994 and five times between 2005 and 2009 as members of the ECAC. Rutgers' win came on April 7, 2007, a 17-7 home victory led by four goals from Mike Dugan and three tallies from Justin Pennington. The teams also matched up in the NCAA Tournament in 1990, a 19-10 victory for the Greyhounds where current Loyola coach Charlie Toomey made 22 saves in their win. Rutgers Head Coach
Brian Brecht served as an assistant coach at Loyola from 2002 to 2004.
RUTGERS AGAINST RANKED TEAMS: The Scarlet Knights will be looking for their first ever win over a No. 1 ranked team. Currently, the highest ranked opponent beaten was No. 3, done twice (No. 3 Ohio State, 4/29/17 and No. 3 UMass, 5/3/03). Rutgers is 18-65 all-time versus ranked opponents, with 11 of those victories coming since 2016. At home versus ranked teams since 2016, RU holds a 9-2 record.
RUTGERS AT HOME: HighPoint.com Stadium has been a beneficially home field advantage for the Scarlet Knights. Over the last 25 home games, the scarlet Knights hold a 22-3 record. That includes victories over 11 ranked teams and eight Big Ten Conference foes. Of the three losses, all have come by one goal to ranked teams (10-9 to No. 19 Army, 13-12 to No. 6 Johns Hopkins, 13-12 in triple overtime to No. 3 Maryland).
Tickets for the 2019 season are on sale through the Rutgers Ticket Office online or by calling
1-866-445-GORU (4678).
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.
