Rutgers has been here before. The Scarlet Knights have had loaded teams in the past 17 years that, on paper, looked to be NCAA tournament bound at the start of the season.

They’ve even topped quality opponents like Johns Hopkins, Maryland and Penn State with talents like Jules Heningburg, Scott Bieda, Kieran Mullins and Adam Charalambides. However, every year since 2004, the Scarlet Knights have found themselves outside of the NCAA tournament field.

We’ve heard this before, but in 2021, these words seem more legitimate than ever before. Rutgers may be headed toward the NCAA tournament as one of the top teams in the nation.

A week after downing Penn State in Piscataway, the Scarlet Knights traveled to one of toughest places to play in college lacrosse — The Shoe in Columbus, Ohio. Rutgers was not intimidated by the top-10 matchup, using an extended second-half run to cruise to a 22-12 victory over a Buckeyes’ team that also felt like a threat in the Big Ten entering the weekend.

Charalambides led the Rutgers’ offense with five goals, but not far behind was Villanova transfer Connor Kirst and freshman Shane Knobloch with four goals each. Mullins also chipped in two goals and three assists.

Tied at 3 in the first quarter, the Scarlet Knights made their first run of the game, scoring six straight goals heading toward halftime. David Sprock and Kirst each had two goals during the rally that helped the visitors lead 11-7 at halftime despite a late run from Ohio State.

With the game within reach for the Buckeyes, Rutgers scored three straight goals out of halftime (Jonathan Dugenio, Sprock and Knobloch). Tre Leclaire ended the run with a goal for Ohio State, but the Scarlet Knights added five more, each from a different scorer, to take a commanding 19-8 lead.

Rutgers fired off 58 shots on the Buckeyes’ defense, including 33 on cage. Griffin Hughes had five goals for Ohio State, and Leclaire had a hat trick, but it wasn’t enough to overcome a high-powered Scarlet Knights’ performance.

Ryan Tierney Goes Off, Again

Ryan Tierney is a known commodity for the Hofstra men’s lacrosse program, but he’s taken his game to another level so far in 2021.

He captured the attention of the lacrosse community with eight goals and three assists in a battle with St. John’s on Feb. 13.

Tierney was in his top form again for the Pride on Saturday, dropping eight goals and three assists to fuel a 20-17 victory over Long Island rival Stony Brook. He had four goals in a back-and-forth final quarter, which saw Hofstra pull away in the final minutes.

No team led by more than two goals in the first half, but a four-goal run by Stony Brook gave the Sea Wolves an 11-9 lead at the break. Dylan Pallonetti scored with 4:32 left in the third quarter, one of five goals for the Stony Brook attackman, to give his team a 14-11 lead.

Hofstra responded with a five-goal run, led by two goals and two assists from Tierney, to take hold of the game in the fourth quarter. Mike McCannell had multiple Seawolves goals late, but it wasn’t enough to bring Stony Brook back.

Robertson’s Seven Goals Fuel Duke

Joe Robertson is only a few games into his first action since tearing his ACL just over a year ago. The Duke senior worked hard to return to the field and did so in the Blue Devils’ second game of the season, during which he scored four goals.

The performance had the lacrosse community talking about what his presence could do for a Duke team that now included Michael Sowers, Brennan O’Neill and his brother, Phil.

On Saturday, Robertson showcased the firepower that has made him one of Duke’s top offensive threats over the past three-plus seasons — and he reached a milestone in the process.

Robertson scored seven goals and added three assists to lead the way in Duke’s 17-8 victory over an Air Force program that has given it fits in the past few seasons. His 10 points were a career-high and he reached 100 goals for his Blue Devils’ career along the way.

Teammate Michael Sowers tallied three goals and five assists to help Duke stay unbeaten.

Up 4-2 early, Duke went on a seven-goal rally that put the game out of reach by the third quarter — a run in which Robertson had five goals.

UNC Keeps Rolling

North Carolina and High Point met on Feb. 16 in what is one of the best college lacrosse games of the young season. Goals, highlight plays and a big comeback from the Panthers helped provide top-notch entertain for lacrosse fans.

When the two met again Saturday, the expectations were high. High Point looked to pick up a quality non-conference victory and avenge the loss less than two weeks prior, while North Carolina wanted to keep its hot start going.

The Tar Heels had the upperhand once again, seemingly scoring at will en route to a 27-12 victory over the Panthers at Kenan Stadium. North Carolina broke open a tight first quarter with 17 goals in the second and third quarters, combined.

Three players — Chris Gray, Brian Cameron, Nicky Solomon — had four goals each to fuel the huge offensive day for North Carolina. Andrew Tyeryar also chipped in 17 of 23 faceoff wins to the cause.

On the defensive end, the Tar Heels held High Point star Asher Nolting in check throughout the day. He finished with three assists but eight turnovers.

Another Blowout for Georgetown

Last week, Georgetown made a grand entrance to the 2021 season, holding Villanova to a goal and winning in convincing fashion. Jake Carraway tallied eight goals and ended up as the US Lacrosse Player of the Week.

The performance — a complete domination against a conference opponent that was ranked No. 20 at the time — was once in a season, maybe multiple seasons.

Saturday, Georgetown did it again. Aided by four goals from Nicky Petkevich, the Hoyas scored early and kept going en route to a 19-1 demolition of St. John’s. Georgetown ended the game on a 13-0 run.

Through eight quarters of action in 2021, the Hoyas have outscored their opponents 35-2.

Petkevich scored his first two goals to end the first half, one in which Georgetown outscored St. John’s 9-1. Petkevich, Graham Bundy Jr. and Jake Carraway each had multiple goals in a second half that helped the Hoyas outscore the Red Storm 10-0.

Georgetown outshot St. John’s 47-25, won the ground ball battle 40-29 and took 18 of 24 faceoffs. Carraway became the all-time Georgetown goals leader in the win, passing former teammate Dan Bucaro.

Notre Dame Impressive in Game No. 1

Notre Dame watched as its ACC foes made early-season statement through the first few weeks of February. Although it came at the end of the month, the Irish made one of their own in the season-opener against Robert Morris.

The Irish dominated the first half thanks to a balanced attack, leading to a comfortable 19-7 victory over the Colonials in South Bend, Ind. Pat Kavanagh scored twice and added seven assists to lead Notre Dame — showcases the similar skills at x that his brother once did a handful of years ago.

Nine different scorers contributed during a one-sided first half that saw Notre Dame take a 12-2 lead into halftime. Kavanagh scored once and added four assists to give his team plenty of breathing room entering the second half.

The highlight of the day came when Kavanagh threw a no-look pass to Griffin Westlin, who went behind-the-back for the highlight reel goal.

THE #SCTOP10 PLAYS CONTINUE.

Griffin Westlin goes BTB off a sneaky pass from Pat Kavanagh.@NDlacrosse is rolling in its 2021 opener. pic.twitter.com/sKe3ECbywJ

— US Lacrosse Magazine (@USLacrosseMag) February 27, 2021

Richmond Comeback Back

Richmond found itself down four goals late in the fourth quarter against a struggling Towson team. The Spiders needed a run to avoid a three-game losing streak to start the season.

What resulted as a six-goal run, culminated by a Richie Connell goal that proved to be the game-winner in an 11-10 comeback victory over the Tigers. Luke Grayum scored three goals to lead the Richmond offense on a day when it sputtered early.

Grayum scored twiced during the fourth quarter run that allowed the Spiders to pull back. Richmond scored three times in less than two minutes to cut a 9-6 deficit into a tie with 12:20 left. Connell and Dalton Young added the final two goals of the rally to seal the victory.

Loyola Impresses Without Savio

Loyola men’s lacrosse needed a response after its loss to Virginia last week, and it got one in a big way against Utah.

Aidan Olmstead and Evan James each scored five goals to help the Greyhounds break open a tight first half and dominate visiting Utah 20-8 at Ridley Athletic Complex.

Olmstead had four of his five goals in the second and third periods, which saw Loyola push a 4-2 lead into an 11-6 margin. Faceoff man Bailey Savio did not play in Saturday’s game, but the Greyhounds still won the faceoff battle 16-15.

Lehigh Gets Season Started with Blowout

After an extended wait to start the 2021 campaign, Lehigh got the offense going early and often against NJIT.

Mike Sisselberger won 16 of 22 faceoffs, allowing the Mountain Hawks to coast to a 24-10 season-opening victory. Six different Lehigh players had multiple goals, including Christian Mule’s four goals and Tommy Schelling’s two goals and five assists.

NIKE/US LACROSSE TOP 20 SCORES

No. 1 Duke 17, Air Force 7
No. 2 North Carolina 27, No. 19 High Point 12
No. 3 Virginia vs. No. 12 Syracuse (6 p.m.)
No. 5 Georgetown 19, St. John’s 1
No. 8 Rutgers 22, No. 6 Ohio State 12
No. 7 Army 13, Saint Joseph’s 5
No. 9 Denver 23, Providence 10
No. 10 Notre Dame 19, Robert Morris 7
No. 12 Loyola 20, Utah 8
No. 15 Lehigh 24, NJIT 10
Hofstra 20, No. 16 Stony Brook 17
No. 18 Richmond 11, Towson 10
No. 20 Johns Hopkins 14, Michigan 7

OTHER SCORES

Albany 15, Colgate 9
Boston U, 15, Pace 2
Bryant 15, Vermont 12
Holy Cross 11, Sacred Heart 10
LIU 19, Wagner 8
Merrimack 16, UMass Lowell 8
UMBC 8, Mount St. Mary's 7 (OT)
Villanova 16, Marquette 14