PISCATAWAY, N.J. - The 2020 season opens up for Rutgers men's lacrosse when it welcomes Quinnipiac to SHI Stadium this Saturday at 1 p.m. The game will be broadcast on BTN Plus with Lou Brogno and Dom Savino on the call. There will be a team poster giveaway to fans in attendance. It is the start of a nine-game non-conference schedule that features five opponents either ranked or receiving votes in national polls.
 
"There's no doubt, with the games we're going to have at home, with the road games we're going to travel to prepare for -- our non-conference schedule is certainly the toughest I've seen here and certainly is going to prepare us well for the second half of the season and Big Ten play," said head coach Brian Brecht.
 
The Scarlet Knights, led by Brian Brecht in his 9th season, look to improve on a seven-win season in 2019 that saw them reach the Big Ten Tournament semifinals for the second straight season. Rutgers returns its top six scorers from a year ago, including its entire starting attack unit. Junior Adam Charalambides (47 goals, 14 assists), senior Kieran Mullins (23 goals, 37 assists) and junior Ryan Gallagher (24 goals, 20 assists) combined for 165 points last season, with Charlambides' 47 goals good for third all-time in Scarlet Knights history.
 
Adam Charalambides enters the year with a 31 game point scoring streak, 10th in the nation. He has scored 90 goals and added 28 assists for 118 points in that time, dating back to his first career game on February 12 of 2016. He has scored a goal in 23 consecutive games, ninth in the nation, with 71 total goals in that streak.
 
Preseason All-Big Ten selection and junior Garrett Bullett is back to anchor the Rutgers defense, starting his 29th consecutive game in a Scarlet Knights uniform. In 2019, Bullett scooped up 34 ground balls and caused 11 turnovers.
 
Quinnipiac enters 2020 on the heels of a 9-7 season that saw them fall one goal short of a MAAC conference championship and an NCAA Tournament berth. The Bobcats were picked third in the MAAC preseason coaches' poll and are led by second-year head coach Mason Poli.
The Bobcats are led by MAAC Co-Preseason Player of the Year in Jake Tomsik, who had 37 goals and 23 assists a year ago. Demetri George returns after winning 121 faceoffs with 64 ground balls last season. Sophomore goalkeeper Nick DiMuccio finished his first season with the Bobcats ranked No. 4 nationally in saves per game (13.88).
 
This is just the second time the two teams have met, with Rutgers defeating QU by a score of 17-4 in 2004. In that game, senior Delby Powless scored seven goals to lead the fourth ranked Scarlet Knights to the victory, earning ECAC Offensive Player of the Week accolades afterwards.

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