VESTAL, N.Y.  –  The University of Hartford men's soccer team suffered a 1-0 loss in its America East conference debut at Binghamton on Saturday evening. With the setback, the Hawks, who were coming off a 3-1 oust of neighboring rival Central Connecticut at home on Wednesday, fall to 4-4-2 and 0-1-0 in conference play. Snapping a six-game losing streak with the victory, the Bearcats improve to 3-8-0 overall and 1-0-0 in America East action. Steve Celeste netted the game-winner in the 11th minute for the Bearcats to end their four-match winless-skid against the Hawks, who had gone 3-0-1 in the two teams' previous meetings.

The Hawks return home to finish up non-conference play on Wednesday evening when they host the UMass Minutemen under the lights of Al-Marzook Field at Alumni Stadium. Hartford will be seeking its eighth-straight win over UMass with a 7 p.m. kickoff.

GOALS SUMMARY: 

·        Steve Celeste scored his first goal of the season for Binghamton in the 11th minute when he put the finishing touches on a cross from Derrick Ladeairous, who took a pass from Ben Ovetsky from the left sideline, to give the home team a lead it would not relinquish

GAME HIGHLIGHTS: 

·        Steve Celeste put Binghamton on the scoreboard early in the 11th minute when he converted on a cross served in the middle of the box; it was the match's first scoring opportunity

·        In the 35th minute, Javoni Simms rifled a shot on goal for Hartford, but Binghamton keeper Robert Moewes was in place to make the save and preserve Binghamton's lead heading into the halftime break

·        The Hawks had the final scoring opportunity in the match in the 70th minute; out of a free kick, senior Blake Jones gathered the deflection and hit the crossbar, coming just inches short of finding the equalizer 

INSIDE THE NUMBERS: 

·         Hartford outshot Binghamton by a 10-7 margin

·         The Hawks put three of their shots on goal, led by a pair from junior forward Javoni Simms

·         Sophomore goalkeeper David MacKinnon made three saves in the match while his counterpart, Robert Moewes, also had three

 TWEETABLES (140 characters or less): 

·         The Hawks drop their first match to BInghamton in four games, having not lost to the Bearcats since 2010

·         In Vestal, Binghamton holds a 6-2-0 advantage over Hartford

UP NEXT:

The Hawks make another brief stop at home on Wednesday when they close out the non-conference portion of their schedule by welcoming the UMass Minutemen to Al-Marzook Field. Hartford will look to extend its seven-game win streak against UMass when the two teams meet for the fourth time in as many seasons at 7 p.m.