COLLEGE PARK, Md.  (November 8, 2014) – The eighth-seeded Rutgers men’s soccer team advanced to the Big Ten Tournament quarterfinals with a 5-2 victory over ninth-seeded Wisconsin on Saturday afternoon at Ludwig Field.  The Scarlet Knights advance to face host and top-seed Maryland on Sunday at 1 p.m.

RU improved to 6-11-1 on the year and became the first Rutgers team to capture a postseason win in the Big Ten.

“I thought we played good soccer. The guys played with good energy and they committed to every play,” said head coach Dan Donigan.  “They did a great job defensively, which led to good opportunities offensively. Against Maryland, looking forward, we still need to be engaged with every play and these guys know it.”

The 2014 postseason has a familiar feel to last season as Rutgers advanced by the nearly same score as last year’s play-in game in the American Athletic Conference Tournament. Eighth-seeded RU downed ninth-seeded Cincinnati, 5-1, before advancing the AAC semifinals.

Freshman forward Jason Wright (Kingston, Jamaica) scored twice for Rutgers, including the game-winner, and added an assist to give the rookie the most points and goals by a Scarlet Knight since 2003.

Redshirt junior Thomas O’Rourke (Lawrenceville, N.J.) got Rutgers onto the board in the 19^th minute as Wright tapped the ball from the baseline of the left post to the redshirt junior at the front of the Badger net. O’Rouke was then able to beat Badger keeper Casey Beyers going to the far post.

The Scarlet Knights continued to dominate first half action outshooting the Badgers, 13-5. As the clock drew closer to the intermission, senior midfielder Nate Bruccoleri (Bordentown, N.J.) gave RU a 2-0 cushion heading into the break. Junior Mitchell Taintor (Storrs, Conn.) bypassed putting a free kick straight on net and instead connected with redshirt junior JP Correa (Montville, N.J.) at the left side of the box. As the defense swarmed, Correa, in his first appearance in four games, found Bruccoleri at the end line of the left post for the 2-0 edge in the 44^th minute.

It didn’t take very long after the whistle blew for the second half that RU found itself up 3-0. Bruccoleri fed Wright, who slid through the Badger defense into the middle of the box, for his ninth goal of the year in the 60^th minute.

Wisconsin thwarted the shutout in the 63^rd minute with leading scorer Mark Segbers, on a fast break down the right side, getting the ball into the far post.

The Scarlet Knights, however, immediately responded. Taintor blasted a free kick 20 yards out for a 4-1 Scarlet Knight advantage in the 64^th minute.

Less than seven minutes later, RU had a 5-1 lead. Wright added in his second tally of the game and his fourth two-goal effort of the season. Freshman Miles Hackett (Montclair, N.J.) passed to the left of the box to junior Ross Tetro (Freehold, N.J.), who then crossed to Wright sliding towards the Badger net.

Wisconsin added in a second goal in the 83^rd minute. In the same fashion as their first goal, Tom Barlow used an outlet pass along the right side into the opposite corner for the game’s final 5-2 margin.

“Looking at tomorrow, we still need to be engaged in every minute of every play, but our guys know it. That was a great 90 minutes of soccer against what I think is a good, talented, hard-working Wisconsin team,” added Donigan. “It’s very similar to last year and you can’t help but think about the same scenario. Hopefully that plays out. We’ll see tomorrow.”

Rutgers takes on Maryland in quarterfinal action at Ludwig Field on Sunday at 1 p.m. The game will be available on BTN Plus.

KNIGHT NOTES

-          Men’s soccer team is not only the first team at Rutgers to capture a Big Ten victory (3-2 overtime win at Wisconsin on 9/12), but also the first Scarlet Knight squad to capture a Big Ten postseason victory.

-          The five Scarlet Knight goals are the most in a game in since RU’s 5-1 play-in victory of last year’s American Athletic Conference Tournament.

-          With two goals and an assist in the B1G play-in victory, freshman forward Jason Wright brought his point total to 25 (10G, 5A) on the season. His 25 points are the most by a Scarlet Knight since the 2003 season when Josh Gros collected 37 points. Wright’s 10 goals are also the most by an RU student-athlete since Gros put away 16 tallies in 2003.

-          Wright also put away his third game-winner of 2013. He needs one more game-winner to enter a nine-way tie for seventh on RU’s single season game-winners list.

-          Wright’s two-goal afternoon was his fourth two-goal game output. He also had two goals in wins over Penn (10/14) and Lafayette (8/31) and the loss to Princeton (10/7).

-          Redshirt junior Thomas O’Rourke’s goal to open scoring for the Scarlet Knights was his first of the year and third of his career.  His currently has nine career points (3G, 3A).

-          Senior midfielder Nate Bruccoleri collected his first goal of the season and fourth of his career, as well as his third assist of 2014 and sixth of his career. He currently has 13 points (4G, 6A) in his four year career “On The Banks”.

-          Redshirt junior JP Correa returned to the field for the first time since the Oct. 18 contest with Northwestern. He added in an assist in the victory bringing his career point total to 28 (10G, 8A).

-          With a goal and an assist, junior Mitchell Taintor had his third goal of the season and first assist of his career. He now has 17 points (8G, 1A) in his career.

-          Junior Ross Tetro registered his third assist of the season. He is tied with Nate Bruccoleri for the second most helpers on the team. He brought his career point total to six (1G, 4A).

-          Miles Hackett posted his second assist of the season.

-          With three saves, sophomore goalkeeper David Greczek in now tied with Matt VanOekel (2005-07) for eighth on the Rutgers’ all-time saves leaders list. He would need 15 more saves to surpass Ricky Zinter (1999-2002) for sixth on the list.

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-RU-