PISCATAWAY, N.J. – The Rutgers men's soccer team picked up a 2-1 win over NJIT in an in-state matchup Wednesday night at Yurcak Field behind first half goals by senior Ryan Peterson and redshirt junior Miles Hackett.

The Scarlet Knights (3-9-1) had a strong opening half, outshooting the Highlanders, 9-0, at the half.

Peterson converted a penalty kick for RU's first goal of the game in the 30^th minute. The senior forward took the PK after junior Thomas Dovell was taken down inside the left side of the 18.

Four minutes later Hackett gave the Scarlet Knights a 2-0 edge. Redshirt sophomore Brian Hawkins was stopped by a trio of NJIT defenders at the top of the box. Hackett, however, collected the loose ball and had his shot deflected into the low, right corner.

NJIT's Danny Cordeiro thwarted a RU shutout in the 56^th minute flicking in the ball with his right foot from eight yards out on a cross by Phillip Coasta from the left side for the Highlanders' lone score of the night.

The Scarlet Knights kept Mamadou Guirassy, the nation's leading scorer, away from the net limiting the senior Highlander forward to three shots, two of which were saved by Scarlet Knight netminder Rafael Pereira. Guirassy entered the game having tallied 26 points and 12 goals and was averaging 2.00 points and 4.85 shots per game.

After holding NJIT (7-5-2) without an attempt on net in the first 45, the Highlanders were able to fire off 10 second half shots. Rutgers, though, ended the night holding a 14-10 edge in attempts.

Pereira finished the contest with three stops, while NJIT's victor Pujades made five saves in the loss.

"I thought in the first half we did pretty well to get those two goals," said head coach Dan Donigan. "In the second half, the game got a little bit away from us, but credit NJIT, they came out a little more aggressive.

"I thought the last 15 minutes or so was a pretty evenly matched game. We didn't want to give up as many services as we did, because they are very dangerous. I thought our backline of Vince (Borden), (Niel) Guzman and Zeno (Mazzucato) did a good job on (Mamadou) Guirassy in bottling him up. Guirassy can score goals at any given moment and break open a game.

"We'll take the win. It gives us a momentum swing heading into the Northwestern game, which is obviously a vital game for us on the road."

The Rutgers men's soccer team is back to Big Ten action on Sunday. The Scarlet Knights travel to Northwestern to take on the Wildcats in front of the BTN cameras at noon. Chris Doran and Glenn Crooks will be on the call.
 


KNIGHT NOTES:

• Ryan Peterson put away his third goal of the season and is 2-2 on PK's this year. It was the senior Scarlet Knight's sixth career goal and has now totaled 17 points in his career.
• Miles Hackett captured his third career game-winner and second of the season. He also scored the game-winner in RU's 1-0 victory over Princeton (Sept. 16).
• Hackett has collected 24 points stemming from nine goals and six assists during his Rutgers career. 

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