The Rutgers men’s lacrosse team will be heading to the NCAA Tournament for the first time in nearly two decades. The last time the team made an appearance in the tournament was in 2004.

“Very excited for our guys. Proud of all the hard work they put in, the sacrifice and the commitment,” says coach Brian Brecht. “Very thankful to our administration and proud alumni base to be able to take this next step and continue to play in the month of May.”

The Scarlet Knights earned an at-large bid. They will face eighth-seeded Lehigh in the first round of the tournament this Saturday in Charlottesville, Virginia.

“One of the best feelings ever. They really kept us going there, but as a team, it was awesome because I’ve been a part of some of those selection shows where we didn’t quite make it and it was just great to be a part of one where we worked so hard this year and we were actually able to get in this year,” says senior attack Kieran Mullins.

Rutgers enters the tournament with an 8-3 record, and has been nationally ranked for the entire season. Despite a disappointing loss in the Big 10 semifinals, players say that it is great to see their hard work pay off.

“We beat Michigan, Ohio State, John Hopkins and Penn State twice, so we dropped on in the Big 10 semis, so it was throughout the whole year, not just one game,” says Mullins. “It was a little nerve-racking. We wanted to get to this moment and I’m glad that it worked out well in our favor.”

The team is battle-tested heading into the tournament thanks to playing a conference-only schedule. They will use that experience to try to win their first NCAA Tournament game since 1990.

“Our mission is to get better each week and understand our opponent. But mostly take care of Rutgers and I think that’s what we do and looking forward to this challenge that we’re going to have this week to get ready for Lehigh,” says Brecht.

The Rutgers women’s lacrosse team also made it into the tournament.