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WEST HARTFORD, Conn. – In its home finale, the University of Hartford men's soccer team could not wrap up an America East Championship berth as it fell to Stony Brook, 1-0. The Hawks put pressure on the Seawolves early and played strong defense throughout, but Mladen Ramic headed in a corner kick in the game's 56th minute to give Stony Brook a lead that it was able to maintain.

Wednesday's match was Senior Night for three graduating members of the Hawks team. Bojan Delibasic, Sam Groves and Jamie Thomas each played their final game at Al-Marzook Field at Alumni Stadium and were honored by head coach Dan Gaspar and Director of Athletics Patricia Meiser in a pregame ceremony at midfield.

With Vermont's 3-1 loss at UMBC earlier in the evening, Hartford (5-9-0, 2-4-0 AE) could have secured its spot in the conference tournament with a victory against second-place Stony Brook (9-5-3, 3-1-2 AE). The Hawks will have another chance, however, when they visit seventh-place Vermont on Saturday afternoon to close out the regular season. A win or tie over the Catamounts would lock up Hartford's spot in the conference's top six.

The Hawks appeared to have the upper hand early, as they created space for themselves deep in the Stony Brook end. In the game's 15th minute, Jorge Rodriguez curled a hard shot just around the right post, fooling fans in the stands but narrowly missing the net. Less than three minutes later, Patrick Boucher attacked from the right side of Seawolves' goalkeeper Stefan Manz, but left his shot a shallow as it just missed darting into the corner of the net.

Despite those strong early chances, the Hawks were held without an official shot on goal for the game. Likewise, Stony Brook managed only two, both coming in the second half.

The Seawolves got their goal just over ten minutes into the second stanza. Stony Brook was awarded a corner kick with Mehdi Belakehal taking it from the corner to Hartford goalkeeper Luke Citriniti's left. Belakehal sent a looping shot in towards the front of the goal, which Ramic headed past the dive of Citriniti and over his right shoulder into the back of the net.

Hartford will look to secure its spot in the America East Championship on Saturday afternoon, when it visits Vermont for the final regular season game for both teams. The game will be do-or-die for both teams, with the winner earning the tournament berth and the loser ending its season.

The Hawks need to come out of Saturday's contest with a win or earn at least one point via tie to claim one of the six slots for the postseason tournament. If the Catamounts claim victory, the squads would be tied with seven points however Vermont would advance by virtue of the head-to-head win.