No. 12 Rutgers men's lacrosse opened the 2019 campaign with a victory, defeating Lafayette 14-8 in front of 1,296 fans at HighPoint.com Stadium. Making his return after missing the last two seasons due to injury, Adam Charalambides led the way with a game-high four goals and an assist. Kieran Mullins added three goals and two assists for the Scarlet Knights. Connor Harryman won 22-of-25 faceoffs to lead Rutgers while collecting 14 ground balls. Freshman Ben Pounds had eight saves for the Scarlet Knights. Rutgers held a 44-22 advantage in ground balls. The Scarlet Knights were 16-of-16 on faceoffs in the second half. SUMMARY Charalambides scored the first goal of the season 79 seconds into the game, and the Scarlet Knights never relinquished that lead. The home team led 3-0 after the first 13 minutes behind goals from Zackary Franckowiak and Owen Mead, then stretched the advantage to 6-2 at halftime as Mullins, Michael Sanguinetti and Charalmbides tallied in the second quarter. Lafayette held a 3-2 scoring advantage in the third quarter, with Mullins and Casey Rose scoring for RU in the frame. After three quarters, RU led 8-5. To open the fourth quarter, the Scarlet Knights scored six of the first seven goals, with Mark Schachte (2), Charalambides (2), David Sprock and Mullins finding the back of the net. RU held off the Leopards to preserve the six-goal margin of victory. QUOTABLE "I was happy for the guys today. We have to prepare and be ready for anything whether its weather, early season starts, or the opponent. It's hard to win games at this level. We started off at home with a win. I thought it was a great effort by us. Kieran Mullins and Adam Charalambides did a great job, and the chemistry keeps growing between those two. We controlled the faceoffs and the ground balls, which was very helpful. And our short-stick and rope unit did a great job with their matchups and helping us with the tempo in going from defense to offense." Head Coach Brian Brecht "It was awesome to be back on the field. I love this team. It felt so good to compete with the guys again and play the sport I love. Our team offense was really good today. We were spinning the ball well. We were sharing the ball well, and that's when we're at our best offensively. We just need to keep sticking with our themes and work on the details moving forward." Attackman Adam Charalambides NOTABLE Made first collegiate start: Ben Pounds (goalkeeper), Jack Stahanczyk (defense), Kyle Pless (defense), David Sprock (midfield) Rutgers debut: Ben Pounds, Jack Stahanczyk, Kyle Pless, David Sprock, Connor Harryman, Cole Daninger, Zach Masessa, Michael Sanguinetti, Joe Peterson, Brennan Kamish, Jaryd Jean-Felix, Bobby Russo Scored first career goal: David Sprock, Michael Sanguinetti, Mark Schachte Had first career assist: David Sprock Kieran Mullins had a career-high five ground balls. Mark Christiano had a career-high four ground balls. Adam Charalambides tied his career-high with two caused turnovers. It was his fifth career game with at least four goals. It was his sixth career game with at least five assists.