BOX SCORE
West Hartford, CT – After playing three-straight games on the road, the University of Hartford men's soccer team returned to Al-Marzook Field and suffered a 1-0 setback against Hartwick College on Saturday evening.
In celebration of tonight's Portuguese Soccer Festival, the University of Hartford welcomed Portuguese National Football Team Coach Carlos Queiroz and Antonio Simoes, legendary Portuguese soccer player, to Al-Marzook Field. The Hawks packed a record-breaking crowd of 1,498 into the stands of Alumni Stadium.
Neither team saw the scoreboard light up in the first half and battled for 25 more minutes of scoreless soccer out of the halftime break. Hartwick sophomore Dan Summers notched the game-winning goal at 69:56, boosting the Hawks' overall record to 3-2-1 and helping them remain undefeated on the road.
Hartwick's Owen Botting, a junior, drilled a corner kick from the left off Hartford keeper Nenad Cudic. Summers found himself in the perfect location as he tapped the rebound past Cudic into the back of the net.
Hartford (3-2-1 overall) went on to outshoot the Hartwick Hawks 13-6 overall and proved to be the dominant team in the first half, holding a 7-4 edge in shots with several opportunities to put the first notch on the scoreboard. Hartford couldn't get anything past Jeremy Vuolo who posted an impressive performance making four clutch saves.
Two of Hartford's best looks at the goal came on back-to-back plays by seniors Carlos Villa and Cedomir Tomcic. In the 32nd minute, senior Andreas Blamo found Villa at the top of the box. Villa unloaded a hard shot, but was unable to find the back of the net as Vuolo scooped up the ball. Just seconds later, junior Sam Groves sent a corner kick from the right side of the field, finding Tomcic in the box. The senior defensemen booted the ball however Vuolo's diving save prevented Tomcic from scoring his first goal of the 2009 season.
For the Hartford Hawks, Cudic recorded 90 minutes in goal, making two saves and allowing one goal. Vuolo tallied four saves for the Hartwick Hawks, who have shutout four opponents and surrendered just two goals through four matches.
"It was a historic day for the men's soccer program with our honored guests Carlos Queiroz and Antonio Simoes," stated Head Coach Dan Gaspar. The Portuguese community and University of Hartford students responded with a record-breaking crowd. If this was a boxing match, we would have won the match. We won in every aspect and every statisical category. Unfortunately, Hartwick had one opportunity and they put it away. Now it's time to prepare for Boston College."
The Hawks host Boston College on Tuesday, September 22 for the second of back-to-back home games at Al-Marzook Field. Kick-off is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. The Eagles hold a slight advantage in the all-time series at 4-3-1. Hartford defeated Boston College 2-0 in the two teams' last meeting in 2001.
