Saturday, April 11
College Park, Md.
6:00 PM
Rutgers University
at
Maryland
No. 19 Men’s Lacrosse Plays on BTN Saturday Night at No. 9 Maryland
Apr 08 | Men's Lacrosse
PISCATAWAY, N.J. – No. 19 Rutgers men's lacrosse is back on the road this week. The Scarlet Knights travel to face No. 9 Maryland on Saturday night, a 6 pm game on Big Ten Network. Joe Beninati and Mark Dixon will be on the call.
The Scarlet Knights enter the weekend with an 8-4 record and a 1-2 league mark. RU is 19th in the Coaches and Media Polls and 16 in the RPI.
Rutgers had three student-athletes named Midseason All-Americans by Inside Lacrosse. Short stick defensive midfielder Joe Juengerkes was on the Second Team, attackman Colin Kurdyla was on the Third Team and long-stick midfielder Ryan Splaine was an Honorable Mention selection.
Kurdyla leads the team with 28 goals and 24 assists for 52 points. He leads the Big Ten in points per game (4.55) and assists per game (2.09), while ranking fourth in goals (2.45). His goal, assist and point totals are all new career-highs. He has six games this season with three or more goals.
Joe Juengerkes is a two-time team captain and is one of the top players nationally at his position. He leads the team with 37 ground balls and has caused 11 turnovers.
Ryan Splaine has 33 ground balls and 13 caused turnovers. The LSM from Rockville, Md. has 50 career caused turnovers.
Rutgers has two other prominent players from the state of Maryland in goalkeeper Cardin Stoller (Owings Mills) and starting close defenseman Ben McKelvy (Kent Island).
Ben McKelvy has 24 ground balls and nine caused turnovers on the year. He is a three-year starter, anchoring a RU defense that is fourth nationally in scoring defense (8.17 goals allowed per game). Rutgers has held seven opponents to single digits this season and allowed eight or fewer in four of the past five games.
Cardin Stoller enters the game with 479 career saves, 20 shy of the top-10 all-time at RU. His 15 saves against the Wolverines was a season high and his most since March 11, 2025, and seventh 15+ save game of his career. Stoller sees his goals-against-average statistic impacted by RU's 10-man ride, with opponents scoring with him out of the cage as they attempt to double the ball. He has a .557 save percentage in Big Ten games. Ben McKelvy has 24 ground balls and nine caused turnovers on the year.
Kasey Mongillo enters the Maryland game with 91 career points across his career with RU and Maryland. He scored the game-tying goal at the end of regulation in RU's double-overtime win over No. 11 Johns Hopkins. Mongillo (six goals, one assist) shares the team's Big Ten points lead with Colin Kurdyla through three games with seven points.
Rutgers has used eight different starting lineups across 12 games, with the most lineup being utilized three times (Hopkins, Princeton, St. John's). All of the changes have been at attack and midfield, with the defense and goalkeeper steady. Colin Kurdyla is the lone offensive player to start all 12 games. RU has used six different starting attackman (Kurdyla, Vorgang, Sommer, Murphy, Colin and Brenden Kelly) and eight different starting midfielders (Mongillo, Zeller, Sommer, Lawler, Large, Raphalian, Aiello, and Colin Kelly).
Entering play over the weekend, RU is one of three 1-2 teams in conference play, while three other teams are at 2-1. The next two games will determine positioning for the Big Ten Quarterfinals, held on the weekend of April 25, with RU hosting the Semifinals and Championship game at SHI Stadium on April 30 and May 2.
Maryland was the national runner-up last season, with nine NCAA Championship game appearances over the past 14 seasons. The Terps are looking to extend their 22nd season streak of double-digit wins, the longest active such streak in Division I lacrosse. Head coach John Tillman is 220-79 in 19 seasons at the helm, a .736 winning percentage that tops active D-I coaches, with a 14-1 record against RU in that span. This season, Maryland is 5-4, with all four losses coming to teams ranked in the top-8 of this week's Coaches Poll, as well as wins over currently ranked teams Virginia and Ohio State.
Maryland leads the country in man-down defense, stopping 93.8% on man-up opportunities. UM also is top-ten in turnovers, faceoff winning percentage and clearing percentage.
Three transfers factor heavily into Maryland's success. Leo Johnson, All-Ivy last year at Yale, is among the top-five active players in points with (210), leading the Terps with 21 goals, 17 assists and 38 points. Chris Lyons has 14 goals, third on the squad after playing alongside Johnson at Yale, where he was an All-American.
Henry Dodge, a transfer from Vermont who was First Team America East, has a career faceoff winning percentage among the top three nationally. This season, he is at 67.5%, having won 83-of-123 through nine games, fourth nationally and best in the Big Ten.
Eric Spanos, a recent Big Ten Offensive Player of the Week, had eight goals against Michigan and has 16 tallies on the year. Braden Erksa has 10 goals this year after the 2023 Big Ten Freshman of the Year entered with three seasons of at least 24 goals.
Brian Ruppel is in the cage for the Terps this year. He holds a 50.8 save percentage and 9.64 goals-against-average. He saved 58.8% last week in holding OSU to seven goals, his best percentage of the year.
Rutgers and Maryland have played 39 times dating back to 1928, with RU holding two victories, the win last season and in 1980. Last season represented a landmark win for RU in the series. Rutgers defeated No. 2 Maryland for the top ranked victory in program history, toppling the Terps for the first time since 1980. The Scarlet Knights raced out to a 5-1 lead after the opening quarter and held onto the lead for the duration of the game in scoring the upset victory, snapping a 19-game winning streak for the Terps. Cardin Stoller excelled for RU, with 14 saves, a save percentage of 70% and a full-field goal himself, earning national Player of the Week honors. Colin Zeller had three goals for RU in the win.
Rutgers will finish the season at home on Friday, April 17, hosting Penn State at 8 p.m. That game is a Big Ten Network broadcast and RU will celebrate an 18-member senior class and also honor program legends during the annual Alumni Appreciation Day.
| About Rutgers |
The Scarlet Knights enter the weekend with an 8-4 record and a 1-2 league mark. RU is 19th in the Coaches and Media Polls and 16 in the RPI.
Rutgers had three student-athletes named Midseason All-Americans by Inside Lacrosse. Short stick defensive midfielder Joe Juengerkes was on the Second Team, attackman Colin Kurdyla was on the Third Team and long-stick midfielder Ryan Splaine was an Honorable Mention selection.
Kurdyla leads the team with 28 goals and 24 assists for 52 points. He leads the Big Ten in points per game (4.55) and assists per game (2.09), while ranking fourth in goals (2.45). His goal, assist and point totals are all new career-highs. He has six games this season with three or more goals.
Joe Juengerkes is a two-time team captain and is one of the top players nationally at his position. He leads the team with 37 ground balls and has caused 11 turnovers.
Ryan Splaine has 33 ground balls and 13 caused turnovers. The LSM from Rockville, Md. has 50 career caused turnovers.
Rutgers has two other prominent players from the state of Maryland in goalkeeper Cardin Stoller (Owings Mills) and starting close defenseman Ben McKelvy (Kent Island).
Ben McKelvy has 24 ground balls and nine caused turnovers on the year. He is a three-year starter, anchoring a RU defense that is fourth nationally in scoring defense (8.17 goals allowed per game). Rutgers has held seven opponents to single digits this season and allowed eight or fewer in four of the past five games.
Cardin Stoller enters the game with 479 career saves, 20 shy of the top-10 all-time at RU. His 15 saves against the Wolverines was a season high and his most since March 11, 2025, and seventh 15+ save game of his career. Stoller sees his goals-against-average statistic impacted by RU's 10-man ride, with opponents scoring with him out of the cage as they attempt to double the ball. He has a .557 save percentage in Big Ten games. Ben McKelvy has 24 ground balls and nine caused turnovers on the year.
Kasey Mongillo enters the Maryland game with 91 career points across his career with RU and Maryland. He scored the game-tying goal at the end of regulation in RU's double-overtime win over No. 11 Johns Hopkins. Mongillo (six goals, one assist) shares the team's Big Ten points lead with Colin Kurdyla through three games with seven points.
Rutgers has used eight different starting lineups across 12 games, with the most lineup being utilized three times (Hopkins, Princeton, St. John's). All of the changes have been at attack and midfield, with the defense and goalkeeper steady. Colin Kurdyla is the lone offensive player to start all 12 games. RU has used six different starting attackman (Kurdyla, Vorgang, Sommer, Murphy, Colin and Brenden Kelly) and eight different starting midfielders (Mongillo, Zeller, Sommer, Lawler, Large, Raphalian, Aiello, and Colin Kelly).
Entering play over the weekend, RU is one of three 1-2 teams in conference play, while three other teams are at 2-1. The next two games will determine positioning for the Big Ten Quarterfinals, held on the weekend of April 25, with RU hosting the Semifinals and Championship game at SHI Stadium on April 30 and May 2.
| About Maryland |
Maryland was the national runner-up last season, with nine NCAA Championship game appearances over the past 14 seasons. The Terps are looking to extend their 22nd season streak of double-digit wins, the longest active such streak in Division I lacrosse. Head coach John Tillman is 220-79 in 19 seasons at the helm, a .736 winning percentage that tops active D-I coaches, with a 14-1 record against RU in that span. This season, Maryland is 5-4, with all four losses coming to teams ranked in the top-8 of this week's Coaches Poll, as well as wins over currently ranked teams Virginia and Ohio State.
Maryland leads the country in man-down defense, stopping 93.8% on man-up opportunities. UM also is top-ten in turnovers, faceoff winning percentage and clearing percentage.
Three transfers factor heavily into Maryland's success. Leo Johnson, All-Ivy last year at Yale, is among the top-five active players in points with (210), leading the Terps with 21 goals, 17 assists and 38 points. Chris Lyons has 14 goals, third on the squad after playing alongside Johnson at Yale, where he was an All-American.
Henry Dodge, a transfer from Vermont who was First Team America East, has a career faceoff winning percentage among the top three nationally. This season, he is at 67.5%, having won 83-of-123 through nine games, fourth nationally and best in the Big Ten.
Eric Spanos, a recent Big Ten Offensive Player of the Week, had eight goals against Michigan and has 16 tallies on the year. Braden Erksa has 10 goals this year after the 2023 Big Ten Freshman of the Year entered with three seasons of at least 24 goals.
Brian Ruppel is in the cage for the Terps this year. He holds a 50.8 save percentage and 9.64 goals-against-average. He saved 58.8% last week in holding OSU to seven goals, his best percentage of the year.
| About the Series |
Rutgers and Maryland have played 39 times dating back to 1928, with RU holding two victories, the win last season and in 1980. Last season represented a landmark win for RU in the series. Rutgers defeated No. 2 Maryland for the top ranked victory in program history, toppling the Terps for the first time since 1980. The Scarlet Knights raced out to a 5-1 lead after the opening quarter and held onto the lead for the duration of the game in scoring the upset victory, snapping a 19-game winning streak for the Terps. Cardin Stoller excelled for RU, with 14 saves, a save percentage of 70% and a full-field goal himself, earning national Player of the Week honors. Colin Zeller had three goals for RU in the win.
| With a Win |
- It would be Rutgers' ninth win of the season, the most wins for RU in a season since going 15-4 en route to the Final Four in 2022.
- Rutgers second ranked win of the season and first top-10 win
- Rutgers second straight year with a win over Maryland
| Up Next |
Rutgers will finish the season at home on Friday, April 17, hosting Penn State at 8 p.m. That game is a Big Ten Network broadcast and RU will celebrate an 18-member senior class and also honor program legends during the annual Alumni Appreciation Day.
Players Mentioned
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/ Men's LacrosseKnow Your Knights: Joe Juengerkes
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