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HAMDEN, Conn. – In a hard-fought battle between a pair of Nutmeg State opponents, the University of Hartford men's soccer team dropped a heartbreaking 4-3 decision to the Quinnipiac Bobcats on Wednesday afternoon at the Quinnipiac Soccer Field. The Hawks battled back from a 2-0 deficit and gained a one-goal lead, but it was the Bobcats who netted the game-deciding score in the final minutes of regulation to come out on top in the non-conference clash.
The Bobcats improve to 1-3 with the win while the Hawks drop to 1-5 with the road setback.
Quinnipiac was first to take hold of the scoreboard as an unassisted goal by William Daniels in the 13th minute of play gave the home team the early 1-0 advantage. The Hawks saw a pair of chances to knot the score before the half time intermission, the first from junior James Stamopoulos in the 30th minute and the second coming off the foot of defender Jorge Rodriguez just three minutes later. Bobcats' keeper Borja Angoitia turned away both attempts, however, to preserve the clean slate in the opening 45.
The Bobcats doubled their score and jumped ahead 2-0 early in the second half as Ola Ogonjobi sent home his first of three goals on the afternoon at the 48:34 mark. Hartford turned up the attack and countered with three quick goals within the span of eight minutes to take a 3-2 lead on scores by Stamopoulos, Atobra Ampadu and Rohan Roye.
Stamopoulos put the Hawks' first tally on the scoreboard when he converted on a penalty kick in the 53rd minute for his first goal on the young season.
The Hawks drew even just seconds later as Ampadu, a rookie defender, robbed the Bobcats of their possession, dribbled down field and sank a low shot to the left corner past Angoitia at the 52:52 mark. The tally was the first of Ampadu's career.
With his third strike of the season, Roye broke the deadlock and gave his squad its first advantage of the match in the 61st minute. The rookie's screamer from just outside of the 18-yard box ricocheted off of a defender and rifled past Angoitia into the back of the net to put the Hawks ahead at 3-2.
Quinnipiac quickly erased its deficit as Ogonjobi netted the equalizer just 48 seconds later and went on to break the tie with the game-winning goal in the final 63 seconds of regulation.
The Hawks, who outshot the Bobcats 6-3 in the first half, went on to hold a commanding 15-11 advantage in the shots column. Six of the visitor's attempts were marked as shots on goal, two of which came off the boot of Stamopoulos. Quinnipiac held a 6-2 edge in corner kicks and put five total shots on target.
The Hawks return to the pitch on Sunday, September 18 when they welcome the 15th-ranked Penn State Nittany Lions to Al-Marzook Field. Hartford and Penn State last met in 2009 at the Penn State Classic, a battle that the Nittany Lions needed 108 minutes to steal a 1-0 victory. Kick-off for the non-conference clash is slated for 2:00 p.m.
