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Rutgers Men's Lax Loses B1G Final to Maryland & Awaits NCAA Tourney Fate

By Aaron Breitman
Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports

The Rutgers men's lacrosse team fell last night in the Big Ten Championship to Maryland by the final score of 14-8. After the game was tied early in the first quarter, Maryland scored three consecutive goals to finished the opening frame leading 5-2. Rutgers could never get back into it, trailing 9-5 at the half and 13-7 after three quarters of action.

Rutgers was led in the scoring column by Big Ten Freshman of the Year Adam Charalambides, who scored three goals. He now has 43 goals on the season, tied for 5th most for a single season in program history and the most ever by a first year player for Rutgers. Big Ten Offensive Player of the Year Scott Bieda added a goal and three assists. The senior Bieda now has the 6th most points program history. Christian Trasolini added two goals and first team All-Big Ten selection Jules Heningberg had one goal and one assist. Senior Zack Sikora, an honorable mention All-Big Ten selection, completed the scoring with one goal.

Maryland came into the game as the top seed in the conference and the #3 team in the country. Winning both the Big Ten regular season and tournament titles, along with a 14-2 record, Maryland is likely to be a #1 seed in the NCAA Tournament.

Rutgers finished second in the Big Ten and are ranked #17th in the country with a 11-5 record. They are firmly on the NCAA Tournament bubble, as the program is looking for their first appearance since 2004. They are currently ranked #19th in the RPI rankings that came out this morning. There are only 18 spots available for the NCAA Tournament. According to Lacrosse Magazine, Rutgers is one of the last four schools on the outside looking in. Rutgers does own two wins over Johns Hopkins, including the Big Ten semifinal victory, and the Blue Jays are ranked #11th in the RPI.

The NCAA Tournament selection show airs Sunday at 9pm on ESPNU. We will have coverage after the announcement.

B1G All-Tournament Team Selections

Rutgers head coach Brian Brecht's Postgame Press Conference