LOWELL, Mass.  – Sophomore Udi Cohen sent a feed inside of the box from the left, and junior Javoni Simms put the finishing touches on the ball in the 93rd minute as the University of Hartford men's soccer team scored its second-straight overtime victory via a 1-0 final on the road at UMass Lowell Wednesday night. Improving its season-best win streak to five matches, the Hawks (10-5-2), who have notched double-digit wins in back-to-back seasons for the first time in 15 years (1998-99), secure the second seed in the upcoming America East Championship closing out their league slate with their best finish since 2001 at 5-2-0.

UMass Lowell (8-9-1), which is ineligible for postseason play due to its recent transition to Division I, finished its second season in the America East ranked third in the standings with a 4-2-1 record. The River Hawks entered the match riding a four-game win-streak.

Receiving a bye in the opening round of the America East Championships as the two-seed, the Hawks will host a semifinal contest on Wednesday, November 12 at 7 p.m. against the winner of No. 3 Binghamton and No. 6 Stony Brook.

Between the posts, sophomore David MacKinnon put in a solid performance against the River Hawks. He compiled five saves, including three in the final 10 minutes of regulation to keep the match tied, to improve his America East-leading shutout total to seven. Boosting his career shutout total to 17, the keeper, who already ranks fourth in the Hawks' Division I record books, cracked the program's all-time top-five.

GOALS SUMMARY:

·         Dribbling down field towards the left side, sophomore Udi Cohen sent a pass into the middle of the box, finding junior Javoni Simms, who beat UMass Lowell keeper Austin Kroll with a low shot for the game-winning tally three minutes in to overtime

GAME HIGHLIGHTS:

·         Fifteen minutes into the match, the first quality look was produced by UMass Lowell out of a Hartford foul; facing a blast from 22-yards away from Homero Morais, sophomore keeper David MacKinnon chalked up his first of five saves on the night

·         Two minutes later, on the counter attack, sophomore Jeff Tryon sent a low ball from the right following a series of downfield passes, but UMass Lowell keeper Austin Kroll was up to the challenge, making a move to the near post for the save

·         Another scoring opportunity was manufactured by Hartford in the 34th minute by Javoni Simms, a blast that came off his left foot from the left side and was snagged by Kroll

·         Just outside the one-minute mark of the first half, Hartford threatened again, putting together a give-and-go on a breakaway; senior Rohan Roye, who started the play with a touch pass to Udi Cohen, received a feed from his linemate and rifled a point-blank shot that was saved by Kroll,

·         In the second half, the Hawks applied pressure, stringing together a pair of looks within a four-minute span; Receiving a lateral pass from Omar Tall inside of the six-yard box, a Cohen shot was driven out by a UMass Lowell defender in the 70th minute

·         Four minutes later, Roye tested Kroll with a rocket from 30-yards away, but the River Hawks' keeper was able to keep the match scoreless and eventually force overtime

·         MacKinnon came up huge for the Hawks in the final 10 minutes of regulation, a stretch that included an impressive save on a high Austin Kimball strike out of a corner kick by punching the ball over the crossbar

 INSIDE THE NUMBERS: 

·         Despite putting up less shots than UMass Lowell (17-11), the Hawks produced more quality looks on goal

·         Sophomore keeper David MacKinnon made five saves to earn his conference-leading seventh shutout of the season

·         Scoring its fourth shutout in five matches, Hartford scored its fifth-straight victory by defeating UMass Lowell in overtime

·         The Hawks have faced overtime five times this season and are unbeaten in those matches with a 3-0-2 record 

TWEETABLES (140 characters or less): 

·         Taking down UMass Lowell on the road, @Hart_HawkSoccer locked up the two-seed in the #AEMSOC Tournament, earning a first-round bye

·         The win at UMass Lowell is @Hart_HawkSoccer's fifth-straight @AmericaEast victory and its fourth shutout during that stretch

·         Facing overtime in back-to-back wins and coming out with wins, @Hart_HawkSoccer improves to 3-0-2 in extra-time

·         In addition to going 3-0-2 in OT this season, @Hart_HawkSoccer hasn't dropped an OT match in the last two seasons (13 matches)

·         Delivering the game-winner in the 93', Javoni Simms, who leads @Hart_HawkSoccer with 10 pts, has scored the golden goal twice this season

·         Closing out #AEMSOC play with a 5-2-0 mark, @Hart_HawkSoccer posted its best league finish since 2001

·         With its 1-0 win at UMass Lowell, @Hart_HawkSoccer has put up double-digit win totals in back-to-back seasons

·         Scoring his seventh shutout of the season, SO David MacKinnon has cracked @Hart_HawkSoccer's top-five in the category with 17 

UP NEXT:
Receiving a bye in the quarterfinal round of the America East Championships as the two-seed, the Hawks will host a semifinal match on Wednesday, November 12 against the winner of Saturday's first-round contest featuring No. 3 Binghamton vs. No. 6 Stony Brook. Kickoff from Al-Marzook Field at Alumni Stadium is scheduled for 7 p.m.