PISCATAWAY, NJ – The Boston College Eagles, needing a win to capture the BIG EAST Regular Season title, scored twice in the opening half en route to a 3-2 win over Rutgers today in the regular season finale for both schools. Rutgers scored twice in the second half to pull within a goal and threatened to tie on several occasions, but could not register the equalizer. With the loss, RU falls to 8-7-3 overall and ends it BIG EAST slate with a 5-4-1 mark. Boston College improves to 12-4-0 overall and 8-2 in BE play.

Rutgers controlled tempo through the opening 15 minutes of play, before BC took a 1-0 lead at the 15:39 mark. John Krause gained control of the ball in the midfield and bent a shot from 25 yards out into the upper left corner for the game’s first goal. The Eagles doubled their lead just before the half, as Pat Haggerty scored off a corner kick by Paul Chase at the 43:20 mark. Despite the two-goal deficit, RU held a 17-7 edge in shots in the opening half. Sherif El Bialy (Cairo, Egypt) was the most active Scarlet Knight, accounting for seven shots, including a 10-yarder that grazed the crossbar before bounding out of play.

In the second half, BC extended its lead to 3-0 on a goal by Oktay Kilic, but the Scarlet Knights responded when Josh Gros (Mechanicsburg, PA) scored off a rebound at the 63:35 mark, his fifth goal in the last three matches. Freshman Scott Gahagan (Old Bridge, NJ) made things interesting in the 78th minute, when his 23-yard shot found the upper left corner, closing the gap to 3-2. Gahagan’s tally preceded a pair of strong chances for Rutgers in the next minute, but a left-footed shot by Chris Karcz (Clifton, NJ) sailed high and a header from Wes Kirk (Bloomfield, NJ) also looped over the top of the goal.

Rutgers knocked on the door several times over the final minutes of play, but was unable to tie the match. Karcz’s bending shot from the middle of the box with 2:30 left to play represented the best of those chances.

Rutgers held a 33-9 advantage in shots, including a 16-2 edge in the second half, forcing BC’s Kyle Singer to make eight saves in goal. Ricky Zinter (Penfield, NY) turned away three.

Rutgers and Georgetown ended regular season in a tie for fifth-place (5-4-1), but the Hoyas earned the tiebreaker based on its 1-0 win during the regular season. Rutgers will return to Storrs for the first time since knocking off the Huskies, 2-1, in double-overtime in the second round of last season’s NCAA Tournament. BOX SCORE