PISCATAWAY, N.J. – No. 20 Rutgers men's lacrosse prevailed on Saturday afternoon in a rivalry contest, defeating Princeton 9-8 to claim the Meistrell Cup for the second time in the last three seasons. Max Edelmann made a career-high 18 saves, none bigger than a stop with six seconds remaining to preserve the victory. With the victory, Rutgers improves to 4-2 on the season. 

Adam Charalambides and Tommy Coyne each had two goals for the Scarlet Knights. While Kieran Mullins, Ryan Gallagher, Casey Rose, Garrett Michaeli and Brennan Kamish scored once apiece. Mullins (one goal, two assists) and Coyne (two goals, one assists) shared the team-high with three points. Michaeli led the team with five ground balls and four caused turnovers.

HOW IT HAPPENED

Rutgers controlled the opening half of play, scoring first, then leading 3-2 at the end of the first quarter as Michaeli scored in transition, just beating the horn. The Scarlet Knights dominated the second quarter, outscoring the Tigers 6-1 in the frame for a 9-3 halftime advantage. RU held the visitors to just one goal in the final 17 minutes of the half.

In the second home, the home side was unable to score, and Princeton slowly crept back into the game. The Tigers got back within one with 2:24 to play, and pressed for the equalizer. On the final sequence of the game, Max Edelmann made his final stop of the day, grabbing a shot from 15 yards out with six seconds remaining and firing the ball down the field to ice the game.



QUOTABLE

"That was the highlight of my career, being able to get the cup back to Rutgers and take it away from Princeton. Making the save at the end of the game, that's a moment you like as a goalie. It's really fun for the game. Our defense played great today. We stuck to our fundamentals. We had a gameplan going in and we stuck to it. They gave me the opportunity to make some saves. We knew Princeton is talented and they weren't going to give up. But we stuck to our game plan, our communication was big for us, and that helped us at the end of the game."

Redshirt Senior Goalkeeper Max Edelmann

"I thought we had a great week of practice. In a rivalry game, against an in-state team that we've played 97 times, there was a lot of passion and energy. Our defense did an excellent job. Max Edelmann was a leader back there in goal, and he did a great job making saves and starting our transition. Garrett Bullett did a great job with his matchup on Michael Sowers, I was really impressed with him today. Garrett Michaeli in the middle of the field, running in transition and picking up some big ground balls. Kyle Pless and Mark Christiano were great defensively as well. I thought defensively we were great for all sixty minutes. The energy was there and we played hard. I'm happy for our players to get this win. This is a great win for all alumni to win this rivalry game. It was great to see so many come back and watch from the sidelines today and be here for this victory."

Head Coach Brian Brecht

NOTABLE

• Edelmann's 18 saves were a new career-high. He has set or tied a previous career-high in saves in three of his four games this season.
• The 18 saves were the most for any Rutgers player since Kris Alleyne had 21 on Feb. 22, 2014.
• Brennan Kamish scored his first goal as a Scarlet Knight.
• Michael Sanguinetti and Owen Mead each had their first career assist.
• Rutgers defeated Princeton for the 31^st time lifetime to raise the Meistrell Cup in a postgame ceremony. RU has won two of the past three matchups in the series, each time winning on its home field.
• The crowd of 2,296 was the largest attendance for a Rutgers versus Princeton game since 2004. 

 

#RUMLax is Garden State Champions! pic.twitter.com/H7nriPWsuz

— Rutgers Men's LAX (@RUmlax) March 9, 2019

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