PISCATAWAY, N.J. – No. 7 Rutgers men's lacrosse has its final home game of the regular season on Saturday evening, as the Scarlet Knights will host Johns Hopkins at 5 p.m. at SHI Stadium. There will be a live stream on BTN Plus with Lou Brogno and Rick Mercurio on the call, as well as a radio broadcast on WRSU 88.7 FM.
The game will be Senior Day, as Rutgers will honor an impressive group of seniors in a postgame ceremony. While eligibility rules due to the COVID-19 pandemic present options for some seniors to decide to return for another season, RU will recognize every player that is graduating with a Rutgers degree this year. That group of seniors is:
Connor Kirst,
Zach Masessa,
Kieran Mullins,
Adam Charalambides,
David Walker,
Michael Sanguinetti,
Garrett Bullett,
Colin Kirst,
Zackary Franckowiak,
Jordan Pakzad,
Ryan Gallagher,
Brian Ward,
Brennan Kamish,
Billy Kelly and
Jaryd Jean-Felix.
The game will also be the annual Alumni Appreciation Day, as Rutgers will pay tribute to those who have made many contributions to build the program to where it is today. RU will recognize all of the players from the decade of the 1960's, as well as the members of the 1986 and 1991 Rutgers teams who, respectively, are celebrating their 35
th and 30
th anniversaries of NCAA Tournament appearances.
Rutgers enters the game with a 6-2 record and two-game winning streak following a 22-10 trouncing of Penn State last weekend. The offense was clicking on all cylinders to produce a stunning 75 shots and become the only team in the nation this season to score 22 goals in three separate contests. The attack trio of
Connor Kirst (four goals, three assists along with seven ground balls),
Kieran Mullins (five goals, one assists) and
Adam Charalambides (five goals) were highly productive once again. On the defensive end,
Bobby Russo (five ground balls) and
Colin Kirst (12 saves, seven goals allowed) excelled en route to Big Ten player of the week awards.
The Scarlet Knights are third in the nation in turnovers per game (12.62) and boast the fourth-best man-up offense (55.6%) and fifth best scoring offense (15.38). Charalambides is 8
th nationally at 3.62 goals per game, having scored multiple goals in every game and posted four games with at least four goals this season.
Adam Charalambides enters the game with 134 career goals, tied with Mike Rinck for fourth place all-time at RU. He is seven goals away from third (Tom Sweeney).
Kieran Mullins enters the game with 118 goals, and can tie Scott Klimchak for seventh all-time with six goals. Mullins has 96 career assists, five helpers away from seventh all-time.
"With the pieces we have this year, everyone really came together this year to propel us forward to this point we're at,"
Kieran Mullins said of the team's success this season.
Johns Hopkins enters the contest at 2-6 record under first year head coach Peter Milliman, with a four-game losing streak following a 2-2 start. The Blue Jays are led offensively by Connor DeSimone (17 goals, 14 assists). Matt Narewski holds a 52.7% winning percentage on faceoffs with 50 ground balls. In goal, Josh Kirson holds a 39.7% save percentage an 12.53 goals-against-average. JHU has the second-best man-up offense in the nation (.579), but have struggled to make saves, ranking last in the nation in saves per game (8.12).
The game marks the 42
nd meeting all time between the two squads, with the Blue Jays holding a 34-7 lead. In 2015, both teams joined the Big Ten, with the Scarlet Knights entrance into the conference leading to the league adding Johns Hopkins as an affiliate member. Since both teams became conference rivals, Rutgers has won three of the seven meetings. Earlier this season, the Scarlet Knights went to Homewood Field and captured a 15-9 win over No. 14 Johns Hopkins behind an explosive 7-1 outburst in the final quarter to capture the win.
Kieran Mullins led the way with five goals and three assists in that game, while
Adam Charalambides and
Connor Kirst each had a hat trick. Rutgers' first two victories over the Blue Jays came during the memorable 2016 campaign, when RU first defeated No. 11 Johns Hopkins 16-9 in a home game, then went to Homewood Field for the Big Ten semifinals and earned a 14-12 victory. RU will be looking for its second win of the season against JHU, having previously swept the two meetings in that 2016 season. The Scarlet Knights have also won home-and-home matchups this season with Penn State and Ohio State.
The game will operate under new increased venue capacity rules for Rutgers athletics. SHI Stadium will now accommodate a limited number of fans with general public tickets on-sale online.
