BOX SCORE

BALTIMORE, Md. – The University of Hartford men's soccer team knocked-off fifth-seeded UMBC, the defending America East Tournament champions, on the Retrievers Soccer Field with a 1-0 win in the quarterfinals of the America East Championship on Saturday evening. The Hawks advance to the tournament's semifinals for the second time in three years and will face the top-seeded and 2011 regular season champion Boston University Terriers in Boston on Wednesday at 7:00 p.m.

Anthony Santaga provided the game-winner, scoring in the 69th minute, while Luke Citriniti rejected seven shots in goal, matching a career-high, to lift the Hawks (7-8-4) to the postseason win.

UMBC put the pressure on the Hawks early and tested Citriniti with five shots, forcing him in to three first half saves. The Hartford senior finished with seven on the match, including a key rejection in the 34th minute on Retrievers' striker Pete Caringi where he dove to his left to make the stop from point blank inside of the box.

Hartford, which outshot its counterparts 7-5 in the opening 45, saw a good look at the goal in the 29th minute as senior Patrick Boucher sent a pass across the box to the left side to James Stamopoulos who then found Santaga in front of the box. From 15-yards out, Santaga fired a shot however UMBC keeper Dan Louisignau was in place to make the save.

After the halftime break, rookie Atobra Ampadu connected with Santaga for what proved to be the game-deciding marker at 68:16. After winning a battle for the ball, Ampadu, a midfielder, dribbled into the box and pushed a pass across to Santaga. Santaga put the finishing touches on the ball when he gathered it from six yards out and hit the right side of the goal past a diving Louisignau.

Following the Hawks' goal, the Retrievers turned up its offense and bombarded the visitor's back line with eight shots over the final 22 minutes. Citriniti again came up huge for Hartford as he posted a pair of key saves during that span, including a clutch diving stop on Andrew Bulls' direct kick attempt from less than 20 yards out in the 86th minute. Bulls and his squad had one final shot at knotting up the game, this time on a free kick with just 40 seconds left, however the Hawks' wall made the deflection to secure the win.

UMBC finished ahead in the shots column at 16-15 however Hartford held the 4-2 advantage in corner kicks. Louisignau compiled five saves in net for the Retrievers, who concluded their season with an overall record of 7-8-3.