PISCATAWAY, N.J. - The Bradley Soccer team delivered a nice homecoming gift to veteran Braves head coach Jim DeRose Friday by earning a 1-0 victory at Rutgers.

Johnny Contreras scored his first goal of the season in the fifth minute and Logan Ketterer made four saves for his third shutout of the season as Bradley (8-9-0) won its fourth consecutive matchup against the Big 10 Conference and improved to 5-1-1 in its last seven games against the Big 10's current membership, dating back to the second round of the 2007 NCAA Tournament.

In his 19th year as Bradley's head coach, DeRose is a native of Cinnaminson, N.J., a Philadelphia suburb located 56 miles southwest of the Rutgers campus.

The Braves netted the game-winner on the first shot of the game after Christian Okeke made a deep run down the right flank. Okeke, who reclaimed the Missouri Valley Conference lead for assists with his seventh helper of the season, found Contreras near the top of the penalty area and the senior defender buried a 25-yard shot just 4:30 into the game.

Although Rutgers outshot its visitors by a 21-14 count, the Scarlet Knights managed to put only four of their attempts on target. Bradley was much more accurate with its chances by putting 10 of its 14 shots on target.

Bradley will close the regular season Nov. 8 when the Braves host Missouri Valley Conference rival Drake for the annual Senior Night game. The match against the Bulldogs will be the final regular-season home game for seniors Desmond Campbell, Contreras, Boris Happi, Zach Kovacevic and Cody Lofgren.

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