PISCATAWAY, N.J. -  The Rutgers men's soccer team returned to the win column on Tuesday night as sophomore forward Jason Wright (Kingston, Jamaica) posted his first career hattrick and redshirt senior JP Correa (Montville, N.J.) scored twice in the Scarlet Knights' 5-2 victory over Yale.

The win improved the Scarlet Knights to 5-4-1 overall, while Yale dropped to 1-8-0 on the season.

Wright tallied the game's first two goals giving RU a 2-0 edge by the game's 26th minute.

The sophomore Scarlet Knight's first score came in the 8th minute of play as Wright took passes from Correa and junior Erik Sa (Watchung, N.J.) for a blast from the top of the 18 into the top right corner of the Yale goal.

Wright later took a cross from Mitchell Taintor (Storrs, Conn.) from the endline and used the back of his heel to send the ball into the Bulldog net giving the Scarlet Knights a 2-0 advantage heading into the half.

Less than four minutes into the second half, Correa put away what would be the eventual game-winner. Freshman Brian Hawkins (Chesterfield, N.J.) maneuvered a clear over the midfield line and across to the opposite side of field. Hawkins then found Correa racing into the box where from six-yards out, Correa put the ball just inside the right post for a 3-0 Rutgers lead.

Correa notched his second goal of the evening to give RU a 4-1 edge in the 66th minute. Like his first goal, the redshirt senior was able to capitalize on a Scarlet Knight clear out of the backfield. Sa, with his second assist of the night, located Correa at the top right of the 18. Correa shuffled into the box and found the opening to blast the ball into the far corner.

The Scarlet Knights rounded out scoring in the 75th minute on Wright's third tally of the game. While Wright had the ball at the top of the 18, he found Niel Guzman(Bridgewater, N.J.) racing toward net. Guzman made his way six-yards out before tapping the ball to his left as Wright came from behind for the shot into the lower left corner.

Yale captured both its goals following restarts. The Bulldogs thwarted the shutout in the 54th minute as Ollie Iselin directed in a header off a free kick from Theo Miller. Miller sent in another free kick in the 71st minute for his squad's second goal connecting with Kyle Kenagy, who put the redirect into net.

Rutgers ended the night with an 18-11 advantage in shots, while Yale led in corners, 3-2.

Scarlet Knight keeper David Greczek (Fairfield, N.J.) made five saves in the victory. His counterpart, Kess Schipper, registered seven stops in the loss.

The Rutgers men's soccer team is on the road for its next four games. Next up for the Scarlet Knights is a meeting with Michigan in Ann Arbor on Saturday at 11:30 a.m.

KNIGHT NOTES: 
- Jason Wright's three goals were the most by a Scarlet Knight since Kene Eze put away four goals against Cincinnati in the play-in game of the 2013 American Athletic Conference Tournament.
- Wright now leads the Big Ten in points (18) and goals (8). - Wright has collected 43 points (18G, 7A) in his two years at Rutgers. 
- JP Correa captured the seventh game-winner of his career. He is now tied for 10th all-time at Rutgers in the category.

 

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-RU-