PISCATAWAY, NJ – Adam Charalambides scored six goals and added two assists to lead the seventh-ranked Rutgers men's lacrosse team to a 17-11 win over visiting Johns Hopkins at SHI Stadium Saturday evening. The Scarlet Knights improve to 7-2 overall and 7-2 in the Big Ten, while the Blue Jays slip to 2-7 overall and 2-7 in the Big Ten.
 
The Blue Jays had the game tied at 11-11 late in the third quarter before Charalambides took over.  He scored three consecutive goals in a span of 1:45 in the final two minutes of the period to give the 'Knights what proved to be an insurmountable 14-11 lead heading into the final quarter.
 
After Johns Hopkins had a golden opportunity to slice the deficit to two early in the fourth period with an extra-man attempt, Charalambides had a hand in consecutive RU goals in a span of 46 seconds to push the lead to 16-11.  He fed Kieran Mullins from goal line extended at the 8:58 mark and then quick-sticked one home from the doorstep to push the lead to five.
 
The late five-goal surge was the third key run of the game for the Scarlet Knights, who wasted little time jumping out to a three-goal lead to open the game as back-to-back goals from Charalambides and a strike in transition from Brennan Kamish in the first 6:35 gave Rutgers an early 3-0 lead.
 
The Blue Jays had the game even at 4-4 at the end of the first quarter as Cole Williams got Johns Hopkins on the board two minutes after the Kamish goal and he answered a Ross Scott strike a short time later to ignite a three-goal quarter-ending run for the Blue Jays.  The spree also included a 12-yard blast from Brett Baskin and a Connor DeSimone buzzer-beater with just one second remaining off a Williams assist from a quick restart from the side.
 
The Scarlet Knights opened the second quarter with another three-goal run to grab a 7-4 lead less than six minutes into the period.  Cole Daninger scored in transition and then Connor Kirst and Mullins struck just 11 seconds apart to account for the 7-4 lead.
 
The Blue Jays made it an 8-6 game at the half as freshman Johnathan Pehsko got his hands free on the wing with an assist to classmate Casey McDermott and Joey Epstein answered a Kirst extra-man goal late in the period when he finished from the doorstep off a nifty feed from Jacob Angelus.
 
A Kirst strike early in the third quarter pushed the Rutgers lead back to three at 9-6, but Conner Delaney scored off the ensuing faceoff for the Blue Jays and Epstein stuck a rebound home less than two minutes later to make it 9-8.
 
After a David Sprock goal for the Scarlet Knights made it 10-8 with 11:03 on the third-quarter clock, the Blue Jays again went back-to-back with Garrett Degnon and Williams scoring midway through the period to pull Johns Hopkins even at 10-10.
 
It was 11-11 less than two minutes later after Scott and Williams traded goals and that score held until late in the period when Charalambides took over and ignited the 6-0 game-ending run for the Scarlet Knights.
 
Williams paced the Blue Jays with four goals and one assist and Epstein added two goals and two assists for Johns Hopkins, which also got also got a 17-of-26 performance at the X from Matt Narewski.
 
Charalambides' eight-point effort led the Scarlet Knights, who also got four goals and two assists from Kirst and two goals and two assists from Mullins.
 
Johns Hopkins will return to action on Saturday, April 24 when the Blue Jays when the Blue Jays close the regular season against rival Maryland at Homewood Field.  Faceoff is set for 2 pm and the game will air live on ESPNU.