IOWA CITY, Iowa -- Sophomore Devin Burns' seventh goal of the season lifted the University of Iowa soccer team to a 1-0 victory over No. 23 Rutgers on Thursday night at the Iowa Soccer Complex. It was the Hawkeyes' first Big Ten win of the season.
After playing a scoreless first half, Rutgers appeared to take a 1-0 lead in the 51st minute on a goal from Colby Ciarrocaa following a free kick near midfield. The strike was called off when the Scarlet Knights were ruled offsides.
Eight minutes later Burns created for herself and fired an unassisted strike for her team-leading seventh goal of the season. It came from 18-yards out into the upper left hand corner past goalkeeper Casey Murphy, who had allowed two goals the entire season leading into the contest.
“I’d been running against the line a lot during the game,” Burns said. “I saw my chance, I took the shot, and it went in.
"We haven’t had a (Big Ten win) yet this year, so this was huge. We knew coming in that we had to get this. This was important for us know that we can beat a team ranked this high and that we’re good enough to do this.”
KEY HAWKEYE PERFORMER
Burns collected her seventh goal of the season against Rutgers, giving her a team-best 17 points.
QUOTING HEAD COACH DAVE DIIANNI
“After losing to Michigan State, we knew we had to pick something up with Rutgers. We scored a special goal; Devin scored a great goal against a National Team goalkeeper, and we defended very well. For our kids to be committed for 90 minutes is part of the reason why we got the result."
"Rutgers is a great opponent, they’re very disciplined. I like how we played. The game got a little bit long in the second half, but that’s how it goes. If you look at it we didn’t give up many quality chances at all and I think that’s a credit to our entire team.”
NOTABLES
- Iowa picked up its first over a ranked opponent since 2014 when it defeated No. 23 Rutgers, 1-0, in the quarterfinals of the Big Ten Tournament.
- The Hawkeyes outshot Rutgers, 11-7.
- Iowa's goal was just the third goal Rutgers has surrendered this season.
- Sophomore goalkeeper Claire Graves collected five saves to notch her fourth shutout of the season.
UP NEXTThe Hawkeyes host Maryland on Sunday at 1 p.m. (CT) for the annual Pink Game at the Iowa Soccer Complex. Admission is free. FOLLOWING #HAWKEYES ON SOCIAL MEDIAStay up-to-date on the latest with the University of Iowa women's soccer team through social media. Follow the Hawkeyes on Twitter (@HawkeyeSoccer), Instagram/HawkeyeSoccer, and Facebook/HawkeyeSoccer.