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The team was still getting votes in the rankings, but had not re-entered the Top 20 since back-to-back losses to Stony Brook and Princeton. That's probably going to change.
#RUMLax starts off @B1GLacrosse play at 1-0 with a 16-9 win over No. 9 Johns Hopkins! #B1GLax pic.twitter.com/N97JSlDqDa
— Rutgers Men's LAX (@RUmlax) April 3, 2016
In front of a crowd of 3,653 at High Point Solutions Stadium, the Knights took a giant step forward with a Top 10 win - and a conference win - over No. 9 Johns Hopkins on Saturday night. It was the first win over the Blue Jays in over a quarter century. It was the largest crowd to watch a lacrosse game at High Point Solutions Stadium and the largest crowd for a true home game in over 10 years.
"This is a huge signature win for our program," head coach Brian Brecht said. "I thought our defense was outstanding. Kris [Alleyne] was outstanding in the goal. Our rope unit continues to do a great job, not only defensively, but feeding that high powered offense. It was just a great team win."
Led by the four goals from redshirt freshman Adam Charalambrides, seven different Rutgers (8-2, 1-0 B1G) players scored. And probably of greater significance, was the attention the won got from other sources outside of Piscataway.
Photos: A big, signature win for @RUmlax against @jhumenslacrosse https://t.co/SxOJgg1TCy (Via @B51Photography) pic.twitter.com/HdnZcUtbux
— Inside Lacrosse (@Inside_Lacrosse) April 3, 2016
With the win, Rutgers sits atop the Big Ten, with last place Michigan up next. Certainly, Brecht and the team aren't looking too much farther than that but the Knights are nos in a good position as they wait for the rankings to come out this week.
Highlights from @RVisionRU as #RUMLax defeats No. 9 Johns Hopkins: https://t.co/e7EmyPqE5z #B1GLax
— Rutgers Men's LAX (@RUmlax) April 3, 2016
Results and upcoming schedule
4/02/16 | vs. Johns Hopkins * | Piscataway, NJ | W, 16-9 |
4/10/16 | vs. Michigan * | Piscataway, N.J. | 12:00 p.m. ET |
One game art a time, but it's nice to dream.
Big Ten Standings | Conf. | Pct. | Overall | Pct. |
Rutgers | 1-0 | 1.000 | 8-2 | .800 |
Maryland | 1-0 | 1.000 | 7-2 | .778 |
Penn State | 1-0 | 1.000 | 7-3 | .700 |
Johns Hopkins | 0-1 | .000 | 5-4 | .556 |
Ohio State | 0-1 | .000 | 5-6 | .455 |
Michigan | 0-1 | .000 | 3-6 | .333 |