Columbus, Ohio – No. 9 Rutgers men's lacrosse scored its most goals in a game in 11 years, as an elite offensive output led the Scarlet Knights to a 22-12 win at No. 6 Ohio State. The victory followed up on a win over No. 6 Penn State to open the year with back-to-back top-10 wins for the first time in program history.
Rutgers had five different players score multiple goals in the game, led by
Adam Charalambides with five tallies (and zero turnovers).
Connor Kirst and
Shane Knobloch each scored four goals.
David Sprock had three goals and two assists, while
Kieran Mullins had two goals and four assists.
Jonathan Dugenio scored twice , while
Zach Masessa and
Erik Henig each had a goal.
Dugenio won 17 faceoffs and scooped five ground balls.
Colin Kirst made 10 saves. On the defensive end,
Ethan Rall had six ground balls and four caused turnovers,
Bobby Russo had four ground balls and two caused turnovers while
Jaryd Jean-Felix had two ground balls and two caused turnovers.
Rutgers outshot the Buckeyes 58-31. The team held a 38-28 advantage on ground balls.
Rutgers came out with a strong statement in the opening quarter. RU scored on its first two offensive possessions, and
Adam Charalambides had a pair of goals 50 seconds apart to give the visitors a 3-2 lead. Overall, Rutgers used a 5-1 run to finish the quarter, as
Connor Kirst scored a pair of impressive goals 84 seconds apart, one in transition and then a second from long range. After a late
David Sprock goal, the Scarlet Knights led 6-3 after 15 minutes of action. RU scored on six of their seven shots on goal in the frame.
RU kept the run going in the second half. The team made it a 6-0 run to take a 9-3 lead, with another goal from Sprock, followed just 10 seconds later by
Zach Masessa off the faceoff win. Freshman
Shane Knobloch also scored to conclude the stretch. OSU had a late push, but at halftime, the Scarlet Knights lead was 11-7. Rutgers outshot the Buckeyes 26-13 in the opening half and held an 18-14 advantage on ground balls.
The second half was more of the same for the RU offense. Rutgers used an 8-1 scoring run out of halftime to expand the lead to as much as 19-8, cruising to a double-digit win.
Next up for Rutgers is a return home to host Michigan on Saturday, March 6. That game will be at noon at SHI Stadium.
- The 22 goals was RU's most ever goals in a Big Ten game.
- It represented the most goals that RU scored in 11 years, since a 24-4 win over Wagner in 2010.
- The 22 goals was the most ever RU scored against a ranked team.
- The 10-goal margin of victory was the program's second largest ever against a ranked team and largest ever against a top-10 team.
- Rutgers now leads the all-time series with Ohio State 10-3.
- The Scarlet Knights have defeated Ohio State four times as members of the Big Ten. Each time, OSU has been ranked in the top-ten (third, fourth, sixth and 10th).
- This was the second straight road win in Columbus versus a top-10 team (2019, 14-6 win at No. 4 Ohio State).
- It was the 11th top-10 win in program history.
- It marked the 10th ranked Big Ten win since joining league.
- It marked the first time for Rutgers with back-to-back ranked wins since 2018 (over No. 17 Lehigh and No. 12 Syracuse).
- It marked the first time for Rutgers with back-to-back wins against Big Ten foes since 2016 (No. 9 Johns Hopkins and Michigan).
- It was the first time in the Big Ten that RU won consecutive conference games against ranked foes.
- The offensive outburst came against an Ohio State team that allowed just eight goals in the opening week and had the Big Ten's best scoring defense last season at 10.14 goals allowed per game.
- With six points, Kieran Mullins is now 8th all-time at Rutgers with 186 points.
- Adam Charalambides had his 20th career hat trick. He reached five goals for the sixth time in his career.
- Charalambides now has 113 career goals, tying Jack Daut for 8th all-time at Rutgers.
- Zach Masessa scored his first goal as a Scarlet Knight, and first goal overall since his 2018 season at Providence.
- Jonathan Dugenio had his first career multi-goal game and first goal in a RU uniform.
- David Sprock tied his career-high with two assists.
"Our guys have been very focused, there has been great energy. They do the work in the week and that makes Saturdays pretty fun, even on the road against ranked teams. I was very happy with our offense. That's a very seasoned attack group out there. Half the goals were assisted, there was good flow. The defense did a great job, starting in goal, the close defense. Our rope unit has matured, they were really good in this game. The energy has really been raised with the additions of some transfers, our senior class is really a great group from top to bottom that has done a great job and helped us."
- Head Coach
Brian Brecht
"The vibe around the team has been, we can keep getting better. That energy is contagious. There is a lot of character and leadership with this group. Everyone is playing for one another. The work we put in during the week helps us click on Saturdays."
-
Adam Charalambides
"It feels great. In practice our guys have been really bought in. Every guy does their job, and when you do that, you can piece together something really special. The energy is there day in and day out. Everyone knows our goals, is really bought in, and that is infectious. I have to give credit to our whole faceoff unit for all the work they put in as well."
-
Jonathan Dugenio
Gallery: (2-27-2021) Men's Lacrosse Dominates No. 6 Ohio State
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