PISCATAWAY, N. J – No. 4 Rutgers men's lacrosse has a nationally televised showdown this Saturday, as RU will head to the road to face No. 3 Maryland on Saturday at 3 pm. The top-five matchup will be broadcast on Big Ten Network with Pete Medhurst and Mark Dixon on the call. The game will also be broadcast on the radio on WRSU 88.7 FM with Chris Tsakonas and Jake Schmeid on the call. 

Rutgers has opened the season with an explosive outburst leading to an unblemished record. Playing only Big Ten competition, the Scarlet Knights opened with an 11-9 rivalry victory over No. 6 Penn State in the opener. Following that was a pair of mirror image scores, as the Scarlet Knights went into Columbus and downed No. 6 Ohio State 22-12, then the following weekend ran past Michigan by the same 22-12 margin. This is the third top-six team in the nation that the Scarlet Knights will face in its initial four games. 

A veteran attack line has been the focal point of the offense, with graduate transfer Connor Kirst (11 goals, five assists) joining established Scarlet Knights stars Adam Charalambides (12 goals, seven assists) and Kieran Mullins (five goals, nine assists) up front. In addition to their statistical outputs, the group helps provide valuable veteran leadership to keep the squad grounded through its successes to keep the focus on continually improving and focused on the next opponent.

"The key is to focus on us," reigning Big Ten Co-Offensive Player of the Week Adam Charalambides explained. "We took a lot of lessons from the Michigan game at that film. We want to focus on our strengths and executing the game plan to the best of our abilities. The focus remains on the process and getting better each week, but you hope to put your best product out there when you are playing against tough competition such as Maryland."

Kirst will face the Terps for the first time as a Big Ten rival. Last season, Kirst and Villanova knocked off No. 4 Maryland behind three goals and two assists from Kirst.

"We are really excited to get on the field against Maryland this weekend," Connor Kirst said. "We have to keep being unselfish on offense and sharing the ball, keeping the ball moving well. We know we'll have to bring it in all facets and play a full game on Saturday."

Another key for the offensive success is the play of Shane Knobloch, who had his second straight hat trick last weekend. He has been named the Big Ten Freshman Player of the Week in all three weekly awards this season.

On the defensive end, Rutgers has gotten a host of contributions, starting between the pipes in goalkeeper Colin Kirst. He made 19 saves against the Wolverines last week, the most for an RU goalkeeper since Max Edelmann against Syracuse in 2018. The close defense group of Garrett Bullett, Jaryd Jean-Felix and Bobby Russo has helped limit opponents to an average of 11 goals per game, with a number of those scores coming in garbage time late in game. The unit has also been boosted by the play of long-stick midfielder Ethan Rall (nine ground balls, five caused turnovers).

Maryland has also opened up the season undefeated at 3-0 with wins over Johns Hopkins, Michigan and Penn State. The team is led offensively by Jared Bernhardt (10 goals, seven assists), Logan Wisnauskas (eight goals, 10 assists) and Daniel Maltz (12 goals). The all-time series is 30-1 in Maryland's favor, dating back to 1928. The lone win came in 1980.