PISCATAWAY, N.J - No. 7 Rutgers men's lacrosse is back on the road this weekend, as the Scarlet Knights will play at Penn State Saturday at noon. The game will be streamed live on BTN Plus. Rutgers enters the game at 5-2 overall, and with a win will clinch a top-2 seed in the Big Ten Tournament, which would ensure a first round bye.
The Scarlet Knights enter the contest having won two of their past three games over ranked teams following a 10-9 victory last Saturday over No. 14 Ohio State. In that contest, Collin Kirst backstopped RU with 15 saves, earning Big Ten Co-Specialist of the Week honors. Kirst leads the Big Ten with 12.57 saves per game this season.
Adam Charalambides led the team with three goals, including two clutch tallies in the final minutes of the fourth quarter, and was named to the USILA Team of the Week. Charalambides leads the team overall with 24 goals and 34 points, ranking ninth in the nation with 3.43 goals per game.
The Scarlet Knights have gotten elite production from their starting attack, with Charalambides being joined by
Kieran Mullins (14 goals, 15 assists) and
Connor Kirst (17 goals, nine assists). The trio has combined for 55 goals, 34 assists and 89 points. The attack is backed by a pair of high producing midfielders in freshman
Shane Knobloch (15 goals) and
David Sprock (10 goals).
As a team, the Scarlet Knights have been elite in taking care of the ball, with just 12.43 turnovers per game that ranks best in the nation. The team's man-up offense is converting at a 56.2% rate, fourth best nationally, and RU is clearing the ball at an 89.3% rate, seventh best nationally.
Penn State enters the contest at 2-5, with wins over then-No. 12 Ohio State and then-No. 17 Johns Hopkins. The team is in the recieving votes section of the national polls. Both wins came at home, with PSU holding a 2-1 mark at Panzer Stadium this season. TJ Malone leads the team with 27 points (15 goals and 12 assists) while Mac O'Keefe paces the squad with 17 goals. Gerard Arceri has won 55.1% of his faceoffs (81-of-147) and between the pipes, Colby Kneese has a 12.89 goals-against-average. The Nittany Lions were 5-2 in 2020 prior to the COVID-19 interuption, and went 16-2 in the last full season, advancing to the Final Four in 2019.
Rutgers leads the all-time series between these two teams 44-24, entering the 69th lifetime matchup. The teams will meet for the second time this season, with RU claiming an
11-9 win over then-No. 6 Penn State. In that statement win,
Adam Charalambides and
Connor Kirst each had a hat trick, with Kirst adding four assists for a seven point day.
Connor Kirst made 15 saves in net to preserve the win. That victory was contested for the Friendship Cup, with the Scarlet Knights retaining the trophy for a full year, as it was determined that the rivalry trophy will be only contested for once per season and not back on the line in this contest.
