HANOVER, Ind. -- Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology moved into outright first place in the Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference men's soccer regular season standings with a key 1-0 victory over Hanover College on Wednesday afternoon.

With the win, Rose-Hulman improved to 7-0 in HCAC play while Hanover dropped to 6-1 in league matches.  The Fightin' Engineers can secure the top seed in the upcoming HCAC Tournament with a victory either Saturday over Bluffton or next Wednesday against Anderson.

Jacob Dirienzo scored the lone goal of the match in the 79th minute off a deflection deep at the top of the Hanover box.  The Dirienzo score helped Rose-Hulman earn a victory over Hanover for the first time since 2016, in a series that had featured four draws in the previous six meetings.

Defensively, Evan Hofer led the Rose-Hulman shutout with two saves. 

Hanover outshot the Engineers 11-5 in the match, led by four shots from Luke Eppler.  Rose-Hulman's defense stood tall for its sixth shutout in its seven HCAC victories this season.

The Fightin' Engineers return home to face Bluffton University on Senior Day this Saturday at 3:30 pm.  Rose-Hulman will honor its four seniors in Travis Bednarek, George Bulger, Colin Featherby and Matt Fix before their final weekend regular season home match.