COLUMBUS, Ohio - No. 17 Rutgers men's lacrosse opened Big Ten play with a statement, with a 14-6 road win at No. 4 Ohio State, dealing the Buckeyes their first loss of the season. Rutgers was led offensively by
Kieran Mullins's eight-points (four goals and four assists).
Adam Charalambides added three goals, while
Ryan Gallagher had two goals and three assists.
Max Edelmann made 17 saves for the Scarlet Knights.
OSU held a 45-36 advantage in shots and 30-28 in ground balls. RU forced the Buckeyes into 17 turnovers and RU was 23-of-25 on clears. The Scarlet Knights capitalized on extra-man opportunities, scoring on two out of three.
HOW IT HAPPENED
Ohio State scored the game's first goal, but Rutgers' fired back with the next five goals. The Scarlet Knights did not allow OSU to score in the final 14 minutes of the first frame, and led 5-1 after 15 minutes.
RU extended that lead to 6-1 before OSU finally snapped its goal-scoring drought after 25 minutes.
Ryan Gallagher had a highlight-reel goal to close out the first half, diving through the air to score and give the visitors a 7-2 halftime lead.
OSU answered back with the next two goals, but Rutgers countered with goals from midfielders
Owen Mead and
Casey Rose to take a 9-4 lead late in the third quarter.
In the fourth quarter,
Joe Peterson scored his first career goal on the extra-man to give the Scarlet Knights a 10-5 lead with 8:52 to play.Tje Scarlet Knights scored five of the final six goals in the game, enuring the eight-goal final margin of victory.
POSTGAME NOTES
- The Scarlet Knights held OSU to a season low in goals (six). It was the first time the Buckeyes had scored less than 11 goals in a game this year.
- Ryan Gallagher tied his season-high with five points.
- Kieran Mullins had his second game this year with at least eight points.
- Max Edelmann posted 17 saves for the sixth time this year. Prior to this year, his career-high for saves in a game was 16.
- Edelmann entered the game leading the nation in saves per game and raised his average.
- Rutgers now leads the all-time series with Ohio State 9-3.
- Rutgers' senior class has 36 victories, tying for the most by a class in Rutgers' program history
- The Scarlet Knights have defeated Ohio State three times as members of the Big Ten. Each time, OSU has been ranked in the top-ten (third, fourth and 10th).
- This is Rutgers first ranked win of the season.
- The victory represents the fifth top-five win for RU lifetime (No. 3 Ohio State (2017), No. 3 UMass (2003), No. 4 Ohio State (2019), No. 4 Syracuse (2004), No. 4 Syracuse (2003).
- The road win at No. 4 OSU ties for the highest-ranked opponent ever beaten on the road (at No. 4 Syracuse in 2003).
Rutgers continues Big Ten Conference play next week on the road, playing at Johns Hopkins on Saturday (2 pm, ESPNU).
QUOTABLE
"I was very pleased with the team's performance. I thought they were laser focused all week in practice, and it showed out on the field today. Offensively we were outstanding. Scoring 14 goals on the road at the No. 4 team in the country is a great job by them. Our defense was ready. Max had a great performance in the cage, he's been a big-time senior for us. This is a great win for the team, all of our guys and our alumni, with all their support. We're going to enjoy this one tonight and then get ready to go back to work for another road test next week."
Rutgers Head Coach
Brian Brecht
"We were moving the ball well and playing within ourselves. We played well as a unit today, and that's' what put us on top. We've been talking all week about finishing the game. We were focused the whole time. We were disciplined and that helped us. This was a great win for us, but we have to keep it going now next week."
Junior Attackman
Kieran Mullins
"Credit to Rutgers. They came in with a sense of urgency we knew they would have. They're an excellent team and can score quickly – they did a really nice job in that sense. For us it's a chance to regroup. A new season started today and while it's not the way we wanted to start it, we're going to have to go on the road now and find a way to get our first Big Ten win."
Ohio State Head Coach Nick Myers
