COLLEGE PARK, Md. – Facing the top ranked team in the nation, No. 3 Rutgers took a 17-9 loss to No. 1 Maryland (10-0, 3-0) on Sunday night. After the game, the Scarlet Knights' record stands at 10-2 overall and 2-1 in Big Ten play. Shane Knobloch and Brian Cameron each had two goals to pace the RU offense.

"Maryland is a great team, they are the number one team in the country for a reason," head coach Brian Brecht said. "They are a very talented team. They made us pay for a lot of mistakes. We have to get better if we aspire to be at that level. I love this team, I think we have some talented players, but we have to get better with everything we're doing, especially in big, tough games like this."

Maryland got out to a 5-0 lead after five minutes of action, scoring on its first five shots on goal in the game. The Scarlet Knights came back with a quick burst, scoring twice in a one-minute span. Shane Knobloch got RU on the board with a laser shot off a Ronan Jacoby feed, then Mitch Bartolo put a swim move on his defender and finished one. After the first quarter, Maryland led 6-2.

The Scarlet Knights starting the scoring in the second quarter, with Shane Knobloch notching his second goal of the day. However, the Terps came back with the next four goals to expand their lead to 10-3.

Brennan Kamish halted that run with a nice take, with the short-stick defensive midfielder adding his second goal of the season. At halftime, the Terps held an 11-4 lead.

Rutgers got the scoring started in the second half, with sophomore Nick Teresky taking the ball from around the net for the score. Maryland responded with the next four goals, taking a 15-5 lead after three quarters.

The Scarlet Knights got the first goal in the fourth quarter in highlight-reel variety, with Brian Cameron taking a feed from Ryan Gallagher, and putting home a nifty behind-the-back finish.  

Ross Scott, Brian Cameron and Ronan Jacoby added additional RU fourth quarter goals, but Maryland finished off the victory.

"Credit to Maryland, they are a very good team," captain Ryan Gallagher said. "They came out of the gate fast, so we had to respond to that. They were the better team tonight, so we have a lot to work on. There's a ton of lacrosse left and everything we want to accomplish is still ahead of us. I have confidence that we'll get back this week and have a great week of practice."
 
Postgame Notes

• Shane Knobloch had his seventh multi-goal game of the season.
• Cole Daninger set a new career-high with his third helper of the season.
• Colin Kirst had his ninth game this season with double-digit saves.
• Brad Apgar returned to the lineup, seeing his first game action since February 9.

 

Up Next
No. 3 Rutgers is back on the road next weekend. The Scarlet Knights will head to Ann Arbor to take on Michigan on Saturday. That game will be at noon, airing on ESPNU.