THE BASICS:

RESULT: Hartford 1, Vermont 1 (2ot)   
RECORDS: Hartford: 8-0-3 (2-0-3 AE); Vermont: 6-5-2 (3-1-1 AE)
LOCATION: Al-Marzook Field at Alumni Stadium (West Hartford, Conn.)  

THE LEAD:  Junior Tori Tripp netted the equalizer in the 89th minute to propel the University of Hartford women's soccer team to a 1-1, double overtime draw against America East foe Vermont on Sunday at Al-Marzook Field. Forced to play from behind thanks to a Vermont goal from Sydney Cammeyer in the 22nd minute, Tripp's fifth goal of the season helped the Hawks preserve their unbeaten record in America East games (2-0-3).

HOW IT HAPPENED:

·         Vermont's looks were limited early in the match, as Hartford's defense forced the Catamounts to fire off quick shots from long range. In the 6th and 19th minutes, Sarah Martin posed the only scoring threats for Vermont, both of which came from 30-plus yards away. Jurg easily made the saves to keep the match scoreless.

·         At the 21:29 mark, Vermont worked its way into Hartford's zone, and capitalized to take the 1-0 advantage. After a through ball inside of the box was headed out by Hawk defender Caitlin Smallfield, Nikki McFarland tracked down the deflection, and sent a back pass to Sydney Cammeyer. From the top of the box, Cammeyer lofted a high shot towards the far post over the outstretched arm of Jurg, and hit the upper 90 for the game's first goal.

·         The Hawks produced a pair of opportunities in the latter portion of the first half. On a free kick from 40 yards away, freshman Ashley Claud headed a pass to Smallfield deep in the Catamounts' zone. Drilling a header on net, Ally Ramos snagged the ball out of the air to keep Hartford off the scoreboard in the 26th minute. Less than 10 minutes later, the Hawks were unable to capitalize on a risky move by Vermont's keeper. Ramos came out of the scoring box to disrupt a breakaway, and Carr, who was cutting towards the net, gathered the deflected ball and fired a shot, but missed wide of the open net.

·         The Hawks had possession for much of the second half, but were unable to cash in on a 4-1 advantage in shots until the closing minutes of regulation. Vermont made it difficult for the Hawks to penetrate, as Ramos came up with impressive saves to keep the home team off of the scoreboard.

·         With 1:39 left on the clock, Hartford broke through Vermont's defense, with junior Aaliyah Ingram starting the play. Working a turnover in the neutral zone, Ingram went the distance and pushed a forward pass to freshman Julia Carr. Receiving the ball from 25 yards out, the rookie midfielder worked her way inside of the box, and used a touch pass to hit Tripp on the left side. Tripp had an opening, and found the equalizer by beating Ramos with a low shot to the far post.

·         The Hawks had the better of play in overtime, as they combined to outshoot the Catamounts, 4-0, during that stretch. With 4:32 to go, Ingram was unable to cash in on an opportunity, missing just wide of the near post. In the final two minutes of the first overtime session, senior Sidney Spremullo and redshirt-senior Stephanie Santos fired back-to-back shots on goal, but Ramos held off Hartford with impressive stops on both threats.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS:

·         Both teams finished even in shots in the first half, taking six apiece

·         Hartford clamped down in the second half and in the two overtime sessions as it held Vermont to just one attempt while creating nine of its own

·         The Hawks dominated overtime, outshooting the Catamounts by a 4-0 edge while forcing Ramos into action twice

·         Jurg made four saves on the afternoon, while Ramos came away with seven for the Catamounts

·         Hartford also held the 4-2 edge in corner kicks

NEWS & NOTES:

·         Sunday's tie with Vermont preserves Hartford's unbeaten record in America East action as the Hawks move to 2-0-3 in the league.

·         Against Vermont, Hartford, which has gone unbeaten in the two teams' last five contests (4-0-1), improves to 25-5-4 in the all-time series.

·         Furthermore, Hartford has gone unbeaten in 10 of the last 11 meetings with Vermont at 9-1-1 during that stretch.

·         Facing overtime four times this season, the Hawks have not lost as they are 1-0-3 in those contests.

·         Scoring inside of two minutes to tie up the contest for the Hawks, junior Tori Tripp improves her season goal total to five, which ranks second on the team..

UP NEXT:                                                                    
Two of Hartford's final three contests land the Hawks on the road, beginning with an evening tilt at Albany on Thursday, Oct. 15. Game time from New York's capital city is scheduled for 7 p.m.