Rutgers University
Ohio State
MLAX Earns Top-10 Win on Senior Day
Apr 25 | Men's Lacrosse
The words uttered by Rutgers men's lacrosse senior captain Joe Nardella perfectly summed up the emotions Saturday afternoon at High Point Solution Stadium. On a day that Rutgers celebrated a nine-member senior class, they provided one last highlight as the Scarlet Knights defeated No. 10 Ohio State by a 17-10 score in the season finale. The victory was Rutgers' first ever Big Ten Conference win and the first victory over a top-ten team since 2003.
Senior Brian Goss and freshman Jules Heningburg each had three goals on the day, while Nardella, junior Scott Bieda and sophomore Jeff George each had two scores.
"This is a proud moment for the program, having the nine seniors leave with something they could put their stamp on with a top-ten and Big Ten win," head coach Brian Brecht said. "I'm proud of those nine guys who put on that jersey for the past four years and have been a big part of our success."
In front of 1,361 fans and a national television audience, Rutgers took control of the game early and used a huge second quarter run to take a commanding lead.
Heningburg and Bieda scored the game's first two goals, but the visitors answered with two from David Planning. Zack Sikora and Nardella each added unassisted tallies, but an OSU goal late in the first quarter evened the score at 4-4 after one frame.
The second quarter was dominated by the home team. Ryan Hollingsworth's goal at 13:07 of the second quarter gave RU the lead for good, and was followed by six more goals in the stanza, coming from Goss (who scored twice), Christian Trasolini, Bieda, Connor Murphy, and Jeff George. Overall, Rutgers held a 7-0 advantage on the second quarter scoreboard, taking an 11-4 lead into halftime.
In the second half, Goss and Heningburg completed hat tricks, as the Scarlet Knights took their largest lead in Big Ten play at 13-4. The Buckeyes made a fourth quarter push with 11 shots, but goalkeeper Jake Andersen made five saves in the final frame to preserve the victory. Redshirt freshman Christian Mazzone capped the day by scoring his first career goal to wrap the 17-10 win.
Rutgers outshot Ohio State 46-26. RU held a 41-33 advantage on ground balls and was 2-2 on extra man opportunities.
"To finish the season this way was exciting and gives us a lot of momentum going forward," Coach Brecht said. "To do this at home, on national television, and on a day where we honored our alumni and the foundation they built for this program, is a great moment."
POSTGAME NOTES
The victory was the first Big Ten win for Rutgers men's lacrosse.
The victory over No. 10 Ohio State was the first top ten win since a 12-9 win over No. 3 UMass on May 3, 2003.
The team honored nine seniors after the game: Kevin Albert, Nick Capparelli, Brian Goss, Brian Lenskold, Joshua Matanin, Joe Nardella, Rich Rambo, Campbell Sode, and Jacob Werman.
Campbell Sode and Joe Nardella each made their first career start.
The team held a halftime alumni recognition, honoring the 1975 and 1990 Rutgers teams, as well as the 204 Rutgers All-Americans. The team also had a special presentation for longtime supporter Dr. Earle Peterson.
Freshman Jules Heningburg led the team with 10 goals in conference games.
Heningburg finished the season with 14 goals in his final six games.
Brian Goss scored three goals for the third time this season. His 23 points this season were a career-high.
Joe Nardella won 19-of-28 faceoffs (68 percent). He won a career-best 223 faceoffs this season and finished his career 761-1223 (62.2 percent) at the faceoff X.
Nardella led the team with nine ground balls and finished the season with a team-high 125 ground balls.
Jake Andersen made a season-high 10 saves to earn his second victory of the season.
Jeff George tied his career-high in goals with his fourth multi-goal game of the season.
Scott Bieda had six points (two goals, four assists). He set new career-highs this season with 30 goals, 28 assists and 58 points, all of which led the team.
Zack Sikora had a career-high seven ground balls.
Branford Rogers had a season-high four ground balls.
The 17 goals were the most for Rutgers in Big Ten play.
