PISCATAWAY, N.J. - No. 20 Rutgers men's lacrosse welcomes in-state rival Princeton to town on Saturday for a 1 p.m. game. The annual rivalry game, which is contested for the 'Tots Meistrell Cup', is the longest-running rivalry in Rutgers lacrosse history. It is designated as New Jersey Youth Lacrosse Day, with all youths encouraged to wear their lacrosse team jerseys, and a beanie hat giveaway for fans. The contest will be live streamed by BTN Plus with Lou Brogno and Rick Mercurio on the call.
 
ABOUT RUTGERS: The Scarlet Knights enter the contest at 3-2 overall following an 8-4 win at Fairfield last Saturday behind a career-high three goals from Owen Mead. After the win, in which Rutgers allowed its fewest goals since 2017, Kyle Pless was named Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week. Max Edelmann made 17 saves, equaling his career-high set twice in the last three weeks, including holding the Stags scoreless for a 27-minute span in the middle of the game to allow Rutgers to build its lead. The redshirt senior now boasts a save percentage of 63% that is second-best in the nation. He is also second in the conference with a goals-against-average of 9.00. As a team, Rutgers' man-down defense success rate of 84.6 is third in the country, while also ranking in the top-20 in turnovers per game, saves per game, scoring defense and clearing percentage.
 
ABOUT PRINCETON: The Tigers enter the matchup at 2-2 following a Tuesday afternoon 19-11 win at Navy. After opening the season with a 23-7 win at Monmouth, Princeton took losses to Virginia (12-11 in OT) and Johns Hopkins (14-12). Princeton has a quartet of players with 10+ goals, led by Emmet Cordrey with 13, while Michael Sowers leads the team and is third in the nation with 27 points on 10 goals and 17 assists.  PU ranks in the top-five in the nation in scoring offense (16.25 goals per game), ground balls per game (39.75) and turnovers per game (13.75). The team is at 52.9 percent on faceoffs on the year, with Jack-Henry Vera (29-of- 48) and Phillip Thompson (27-of-51) splitting time. In goal, Jon Levine holds a .500 save percentage and 10.9 goals-against-average.
 
ABOUT THE SERIES: Rutgers and Princeton have faced off 96 times, the longest-running series in program history, with the Tigers holding a 63-30-3 advantage in a series that dates back to 1922. The squads play for the Meistrell Cup, named in honor of U.S. Lacrosse Hall of Famer Harland (Tots) Meistrell, who restarted the lacrosse programs at both schools in the early 1920s. Last season, Kieran Mullins scored five goals, but Princeton won 15-14 in overtime. In the last matchup in Piscataway, Rutgers claimed a 16-11 win behind seven points from Jules Heningburg and four goals from Mullins, claiming the Meistrell Cup for the first time since 2005.
 
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"This is a great rivalry. It's going to come down to how strong are our principles and fundamentals. We are going to rely on our strong base. We've spent this whole week developing our team, focusing on us and getting better."
Rutgers Head Coach Brian Brecht
 
"Rutgers is a really good team. They are a big, physical and fast team. It's a really good program. They are always long and athletic. We have our work cut out for us. This is going to be a good game on Saturday. It's always a close game."
Princeton Head Coach Matt Madalon
 
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