Rutgers Men’s Lacrosse Has Three Players Named First Team All-Big Ten

The Rutgers men’s lacrosse team earned the most Big Ten season honors ever on Tuesday since joining the conference. Adam Charalambides, Kieran Mullins, and Max Edelmann were all named to the First Team All-Big Ten, which is also a program best. All three players are team captains. Edelmann was also named Co-Specialist of the Year along with Justin Inacio of Ohio State. In addition, Kyle Pless was named Second Team All-Big Ten, while Owen Mead was given the Sportsmanship Award for Rutgers.

“I’m very happy for the student-athletes who earned these postseason honors,” head coach Brian Brecht said. “They have all made a major impact on our team and been a big part of our success. I am very proud of their individual accomplishments and all of their contributions to our program this year.”

Edelmann led the country with a 14.83 saves per game average and his 57.2% save percentage was tops in the Big Ten, as well as fourth best nationally. He produced at least 17 saves in a game six times this season. The redshirt senior allowed just 11.08 goals per game in 12 contests.

Charalambides has been outstanding in his return after missing the past two seasons due to injury. He led the team with 45 goals this season, third most all-time on the program’s single-season record list. He averaged 3.2 goals per game this season, which is seventh most in the country and he has scored at least four goals in a game six times this season. Charalambides also scored a Big Ten best 18 goals in five conference regular season games. The redshirt sophomore’s 59 points overall this season is a career high as well.

Mullins tied Charalambides with a team best 59 points but his 3.0 assists per game average was second most in the Big Ten and sixth best in the nation. His 4.92 points per game average was 12th best nationally. The junior produced 6 goals and 3 assists in a win over St. John’s earlier this season, earning him US Lacrosse National Player of the Week honors.

Pless was second in the conference with a 1.64 caused turnovers per game average and picked up 32 ground balls this season. The senior was named Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week four times this season.

Rutgers is the no. 4 seed in Thursday’s opening round of the Big Ten Tournament and will take on no. 1 seed Penn State at 5 p.m. The Scarlet Knights are hosting the postseason event at Highpoint.com Stadium and are looking to avenge last Saturday’s one goal loss against the Nittany Lions, who remain the top ranked team in the nation. Our full preview of the semifinal matchup can be read here.