Santaga's PK Lifts Hawks to 3-2 Victory Over UMass

Box Score

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WEST HARTFORD, Conn. – After a 90 minute, back-and-forth battle featuring a second-half scoring surge between the University of Hartford men's soccer team and the University of Massachusetts, it was junior Anthony Santaga's goal on a penalty kick in the 77th minute that propelled the Hawks to victory by a 3-2 count on Wednesday evening.

Hartford, which remains perfect at 2-0 on its home turf, boosts its overall record to 4-3-0 in 2012 while UMass falls to 2-2-1 after dropping its last two contests. Javoni Simms and Damion Lowe also collected one goal apiece on the evening to help lead Hartford to its second-straight triumph.

Despite an 11-4, first half shot advantage for Hartford, the Minutemen drew blood first in the match, striking the scoreboard in the 19th minute and forcing the Hawks to enter the halftime break facing a deficit for the first time this season.

Both of UMass' tallies came on restarts, with the first coming after the Minutemen were awarded a free kick from 35-yards outs. Domiono Skrajewski took the honors and used a long, forward pass to find Matt Keys deep inside of the 18-yard box. With his head, Keys hit the upper right corner of the net with a ball that was placed out of reach of a diving Viltsu Tuumi to give UMass the 1-0 lead.

Out of the intermission, Hartford didn't have to battle from behind for much longer, though, as Simms provided an offensive jolt in the 57th minute to tie things up before Lowe gave the home team its first advantage of the night at 2-1 in the 72nd minute.

Simms used a heads-up play in the back field to net the equalizer, his fifth tally of the year. After intercepting a weak pass by a Minutemen defender, the reigning America East Rookie of the Week dribbled through the back line and found himself in a one-on-one situation with UMass keeper Brian Frame. After eluding Frame with a fake to the left, Simms tapped a low shot into the opposite corner of the net to make it a 1-1 match.

Lowe's second tally of the season came on a scrum in front of the net following a free kick by James Stamopoulos. After a booming kick by the Hawks' midfielder, Santaga got a head on the cross, redirecting it in front of the net. Lowe was in place to put the finishing touches on the play, pounding the ball over the goal line to put Hartford ahead, 2-1.

Just over four minutes later, UMass knotted up the score once again as Dan Sangster found the back of the net for the first time this season, making it an even match at 2-2 in the 76th minute.

Less than 70 seconds after the Minutemen battled back to tie the game, the momentum quickly swung back to the home team when the Hawks were awarded a penalty kick with 13 minutes left to play. Santaga easily put the shot past Frame for the eventual game-winner.

Hartford finished with a commanding 18-6 advantage in the shots column while holding a 6-3 edge in corner kicks. Tuumi did not stop a shot on goal in the contest while Frame, his counterpart, tallied four.

Wednesday's match was played in front of 1,432 fans, marking the third largest crowd at Alumni Stadium for a men's soccer game. Last Monday, the Hawks drew 1,504 fans, a program record, in their home opener against Central Connecticut.

The Hawks look to make it three-in-a-row when they head to Loudonville, N.Y. on Saturday with an afternoon matchup against the Siena Saints (3:00 p.m.). Last year, Hartford gained the slight advantage in the all-time series, which is set at 2-1-1, with a 1-0 victory in West Hartford.

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