THE BASICS:

RESULT: Hartford 2, Syracuse 2
RECORDS: Hartford 4-5-5; Syracuse 9-4-2
LOCATION: SU Soccer Stadium (Syracuse, N.Y.)

THE LEAD: The University of Hartford men's soccer team battled back from a pair of deficits on Tuesday night to draw even at No. 15 Syracuse with a 2-2 tie. Sophomore defender Andre Morrison pulled the Hawks out of a 1-0 disadvantage in the 22nd minute with his second goal of the season before senior linemate Blake Jones responded to a Syracuse penalty kick in the 57th minute, delivering the equalizer six minutes later. Junior goalkeeper David MacKinnon made two saves as the Hawks conclude their non-conference slate at 4-3-3.

HOW IT HAPPENED:

·         Hartford faced a 1-0 deficit at the 18:28 mark, but answered right back and tied up the match at 1-1 less than three minutes later. Song whipped in a free kick on goal, and Morrison got a foot on a second attempt and easily finished on the empty net 21:21 into the match.

·         The early deficit was a result of Buescher's sixth goal of the season. The Orange's scoring leader tracked down a deflection on a ball from Juuso Pasanen and converted from 20 yards out.

·         A hand ball inside of the box translated into Buecher's second goal of the match with 33:02 left in the second, forcing Hartford to play from behind for the second time. But the Hawks stayed in the match despite the blow, and again provided an answer to their deficit. At the 63:52 mark, Song served a ball into the left side of the box, and the first touch off the boot of Jones pushed the shot into the upper right part of the net and tied up the match at 2-all.

·         With just over a minute left in regulation, Emerson DeBrito came up with a game-saving tackle on what could have been the golden goal for the Orange inside of the box on to preserve the tie.

·         In the 106th minute, Syracuse threatened and had three consecutive scoring chances, but the Orange were unable to cash in on two balls through the box. Buecher rounded out Syracuse's opportunities with a blast from outside of the box, but that attempt went over the crossbar. The Orange produced one more opportunity before the end of the match, as Kamal Miller put a shot high from the left side on a deep free kick.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS:

·         Both teams played a solid and even first half, as shots and shots on goal were even at five and two, respectively.

·         Syracuse went on to hold an 8-1 edge in the second half and had two opportunities in the final overtime session to finish with a 15-6 advantage in shots.

·         The Orange also held a 9-2 advantage in corner kicks.

·         MacKinnon tallied one save in each of the first two periods to finish with two; Hendrik Hilpert made one stop for Syracuse

NEWS & NOTES:

·         The Hawks draw at Syracuse on Tuesday marks their first result against a ranked opponent since last season, when they drew even at then-ranked No. 14 American. Since that match, which was played on Sept. 23, 2014, the Hawks have faced just one ranked opponent in then-ranked No. 22 Old Dominion. Hartford fell in overtime, 3-2, last month.

·         Tuesday marked Hartford's eighth overtime game this season; in those contests, the Hawks are 2-1-4.

·         The Hawks have faced overtime in four of their last six matches.

·         Hartford concludes its non-conference slate at 4-3-3.

·         Morrison has two goals on the season while Jones' tally in the second half was the first of the season for the senior.

UP NEXT:                                                                    
Hartford remains on the road for its next two games as it treks to Long Island for a Saturday night tilt at Stony Brook. Kickoff from Kenneth P. LaValle Stadium is scheduled for 7 p.m.