BOX SCORE
AMHERST, Mass. – University of Hartford sophomore transfer David Bernhardsson provided the only offense in the 38th minute of play to lead the men's soccer to a 1-0 defeat of the Massachusetts Minutemen at Rudd Field on Wednesday. The Hawks will return home on Saturday, September 24 as Marist visits Al-Marzook Field for a 7:00 p.m. match.
Hartford, which had gone without a win in its last six attempts, improves to 2-5-1 overall while UMass remains winless at 0-7-0 on the season.
Hartford came out of the opening kick firing as it forced Minutemen keeper Shane Curran-Hayes to make a pair of saves in the match's opening four minutes. Following six more shot attempts, including another on target, the Hawks snuck one past Curran-Hayes in the 38th minute to take the 1-0 lead.
Anthony Santaga and Atobra Ampadu provided the passes that set Bernhardsson up with the eventual game-winner with seven minutes remaining until the halftime intermission. Santaga sent a long pass ahead to a cutting Ampadu who quickly rifled a cross inside of the box. Bernhardsson put the finishing touches on the crafty play when he converted on the cross and punched in the match's lone goal at the 38:00 mark.
Bernhardsson's first goal in a Hartford uniform came just 53 seconds after the Tjorn, Sweden native missed a penalty kick, hitting the upper right corner on the crossbar.
After holding a commanding 10-4 lead in the shots column in the first half, Hartford was outshot by Massachusetts by a margin of 6-3 in the final 45 minutes of play. Despite the shot differential, the Minutemen were unable to net the equalizer has the Hawks' defense did not allow a shot near the target.
The Hawks combined to hold a 13-10 advantage in shots and finished the match ahead of the Minutemen in corner kicks at 7-5. Bernhardsson and classmate Santaga led Hartford's offensive charge with three shots apiece. All three of Bernhardsson's attempts were on target while Santaga put one shot on goal.
Luke Citriniti, who posted his second-straight match without allowing a goal with the win, was forced to make three saves in the match to earn his third clean slate this season.
