West Hartford, CT ? The University of Hartford men's soccer team suffered its first loss of the 2007 season by way of a 4-0 shutout to the Fairfield Stags on Tuesday night at Al-Marzook Field. The Hawks are now 3-1-1 overall, while Fairfield improves to 4-1 overall.
“Once again I am proud of the Hartford Hawks friends and fans for showing up on a Tuesday evening to support out team,” said head coach Dan Gaspar. “We are building a strong foundation in support of our team and I hope that continues despite the outcome of the game. I'm confident in my team and I believe that we will not see this result again here at Al-Marzook Field. We didn't go from being a good team to a bad team in the matter of 90 minutes.”
Fairfield put its first point on the board within the first two minutes when David Piehdrahita scored off a rebound. The play began when Sam Clements sent a free kick through the Hartford wall to which Hawks keeper Matt Glaeser (Fredericksburg, VA) was able to save but unable to control. Piehdrahita took control of the situation and sent the ball over Glaeser's extended hand into the lower right corner of the net.
“I hope that our team can live and learn three lessons from tonight's result; 1. No matter how much you believe and how good you are you have to be ready to play 90 minutes, 2. Respect your opponent, 3. As soon as the referee blows the whistle you need to be committed to play,” continued Gaspar.
Fairfield added its second goal in the 18th minute when Bailey sent a pass to the opposite side of the box where Tom Clements scored to the left side of the net. They again padded their lead in the 27th minute when Clements thanked Bailey by passing him the ball on the left side of the box where Bailey scored his fourth goal of the season into the left of the net.
Hartford took just three shots in the first half, compared to five for the Stags. Both keepers, Glaeser and Jon Paul Francini, recorded two saves in the first 45 minutes. Fairfield struck again in the second half during the 87th minute when Mike Lentine sent a corner kick into the box where Kerr McLeod was able to score his first goal of the season.
In the second half the Hawks were a bit more aggressive and took a total of six shots with their best attempt in the final minute of play when two shots found the lucky hand of back-up keeper Matt Cleveland. Fairfield finished the game with six total saves, four for Francini and two for Cleveland. Glaeser finished the game with three saves, challenged just twice in the second period.
Hartford will continue a three-game home stand when they host Temple on Saturday evening at 6:00 p.m. at Al-Marzook Field.
