BOX SCORE
West Hartford, CT – The University of Hartford men's soccer team suffered another hard-luck loss at home, falling to the Boston College Eagles by a 2-1 final in a hard-fought, physical game at Al-Marzook Field on Tuesday evening. The Hawks fall to 3-3-1 overall this season.
The Eagles were first to strike as they lit up the scoreboard with two-straight scores, the first coming in the 51st minute and the latter just seven later, giving Boston College a quick 2-0 advantage over the Hawks. Hartford forward Carlos Villa retaliated in the 59th minute, putting the Hawks on the board. The senior's goal was not enough for the Hawks, as they could not find the back of the net in the final 35 minutes for the equalizer.
Hartford's attack turned on the heat right out of the opening kick. The Hawks outshot Boston College by an impressive 12-1 margin in the first stanza – eight of which were on target – but Eagles' keeper Justin Luthy refused to give up the clean slate as he made a number of stellar saves in goal.
The Hawks' best looks at finding the back of the net in the opening stanza came on back-to-back attempts by Bojan Delibasic and Cedomir Tomcic. Off a corner kick, Delibasic attempted to take advantage of the out of place Boston College keeper as he chipped the ball over the Eagles' defenders. Before the ball had a chance to enter the goal, Boston College headed it out away from the target, preventing the Hawks from putting up points on the scoreboard. Tomcic found the rebound and unloaded a quick shot at the Boston College goal but could not get it past a diving Luthy.
Boston College's pair of goals came on empty nets as the Eagles caught Hartford keeper Nenad Cudicout of the net in attempts to stop his opponent's attack before a shot was taken. Edvin Worley and Charlie Rugg capitalized on the unmanned goal situations as they beat Cudic on the final move and buried the easy shots in the back of the net. Worley's goal – his first of the season – came at 51:41 while Rugg netted his third goal of the season at 58:40.
The Hawks struck back less than a minute later on an individual effort by Villa. The senior drew Boston College keeper Justin Luthy towards the left side of the goal, and unloaded a shot past him to the far right post. The score was Villa's third of the season.
Luthy recorded 10 saves in goal for the Eagles, who improve to 4-3-0 overall with the win. Cudic played all 90 minutes in goal, making four stops and allowing two in.
“We outshot Boston College 20-8 and held an 8-2 advantage of on corners,” commented Hartford Head Coach Dan Gaspar. “Our players deserved more positive results. However when you make two crucial mistakes, quality teams will penalize you for them and that's what Boston College did. They took advantage of our two crucial mistakes.”
The Hawks close out their 2009 non-conference campaign with back-to-back road dates. Hartford travels to Temple on Saturday, September 26 before facing in-state rival Central Connecticut State on Tuesday, September 29 in New Britain.
