PISCATAWAY, N.J. (Oct. 2, 2014) - Senior Stef Scholz (South Hackensack, N.J.) buried one top left in the third minute and the No. 25/16 Rutgers women's soccer team held off the rest of the way, blanking Indiana, 1-0, Thursday night at Yurcak Field. Freshman goalkeeper Casey Murphy (Bridgewater, N.J.) made a career-high eight saves in the victory, facing the highest opposing shot on goal output of the year.

The Scarlet Knights (8-1-1, 4-1-1 Big Ten) earned a critical three points in conference play, moving them up to second place in the Big Ten standings with another batch of league matches set for tomorrow night. Michigan (9-3-0, 5-1-0 Big Ten), a squad RU topped, 1-0, defeated Nebraska, 3-1, Thursday night to tie No. 7/7 Penn State (10-1-0, 5-0-0 Big Ten) for the league lead at 15 points.

Senior midfielder Amy Pietrangelo (Laval, Quebec) set up the scoring play early on, drawing in the backs from 10 yards out to free up Scholz along the right side. From about eight yards, the forward rocketed a shot top left past Hoosier keeper Sarah Stone for the 1-0 RU lead. Following the goal the Scarlet Knights held Indiana off the scoreboard with a number key stops, including solid open field defending by the backline and critical saves.

Indiana's best chance came in the 42nd minute, when Mykayla Brown got into the box and headed one at net. With Murphy defending the near post, junior Cassidy Benintente (Jackson, N.J.) shifted in front to kick the shot away, preventing the Hoosiers from knotting up the score.

Sophomore Madison Tiernan (Voorhees, N.J.), along with Scholz, was active in the win, posting four shots and leading the team with three on goal.

The Scarlet Knights return to Yurcak Field on Sunday at 1 p.m. to face Purdue (6-6-1, 2-5-0 Big Ten) on "Dads and Daughters Day." With the purchase of a two-ticket package that day for $15, fans will receive a water bottle and two food vouchers. Rutgers will also don pink uniforms against the Boilermakers for the annual "Pink Game" to spread awareness for breast cancer research.

The match will be broadcast live on BTN2Go, with Danny Breslauer and Glenn Crooks on the call.

Game Notes

• With the victory Rutgers improved to 1-0 all-time against Indiana.
• The goal by Scholz in the third minute was the earliest goal by the Scarlet Knights this season.
• RU improved to 4-1-1 in Big Ten play and moved into second place with 13 points behind No. 7/7 Penn State and Michigan.
• Rutgers improved to 6-0-0 on the year at Yurcak Field. The Scarlet Knights have won 17 of their last 18 matches "On the Banks" and are 69-15-8 (.793) in Piscataway since the 2006 season.
• RU has won seven of its last nine meetings (7-1-1) with Big Ten schools dating back to 2008. All-time, the Scarlet Knights are 12-15-4 against Big Ten schools.
• RU posted double-digit shots for the 28th time in its last 32 matches.
• The Scarlet Knights have outshot the opposition in all 10 matches this season.
• Junior Hayley Katkowski (Westford, Mass.) started her 54th consecutive game in the midfield for Rutgers.
• Murphy's eight saves were a career-high and the most saves for an RU goalkeeper since Jess Janosz stopped nine shots against West Virginia last season in the first round of the NCAA Tournament (Nov. 16).

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