THE BASICS:

RESULT: No. 1 Hartford 1, No. 4 Maine 0
RECORDS: Hartford (11-3-4), Maine (9-8-2)
LOCATION: Al-Marzook Field at Alumni Stadium (West Hartford, Conn.)

THE LEAD: Behind the strength of an Elise Galipo goal in the 73rd minute, the University of Hartford women's soccer team secured its second-straight America East championship match appearance on Sunday via a 1-0 victory over the fourth-seeded Maine Black Bears. The win pushes 12th-year head coach John Natale's career total to 103, which ties Austin Daniels for the most victories in program history. Championship action is set to kickoff at 2 p.m. from Al-Marzook Field at Alumni Stadium on Sunday, Nov. 8.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED:

·         From start-to-finish, the match was dominated by Hartford as it held a commanding, 14-2 advantage in shots, including an 8-1 edge in the first half.

·         The field tilted in favor of the Hawks throughout that first half, but the home team was unable to crack the scoreboard despite taking seven more shots than the Black Bears. Forcing Maine keeper Claudia Dube-Trempe into action in the 23rd and 40th minutes on attempts off the boots of freshman Julia Carr and senior Kylie Hoang, the Black Bears dodged a bullet right before the halftime break. With just three ticks left on the clock, junior Aaliyah Ingram rifled a shot off the far post to keep the match scoreless at intermission.

·         The Hawks continued to attack in the second half, as they held a 6-1 advantage in shots during that stretch. After a shot from nine yards out from Ingram went wide, Hartford came inches away from breaking open the game as Sidney Spremullo drilled a shot from inside of the 18 off the crossbar to keep the match scoreless.

·         Not long after, Galipo, who set up the pass that led to Spremullo's near miss, put the Hawks on the scoreboard with her first goal of the season. Splitting two defenders on the left side, Galipo lofted a beautiful shot into the upper right quadrant to put her team in front by a 1-0 count at the 72:16 mark.

·         Maine, which had its lone shot of the first half stopped by Hawks' keeper Jessica Jurg, saw just as much pressure from Hartford in the second half. Putting up her team's only shot in the first, Charlene Achille provided the only other offense for the Black Bears with 10 seconds remaining, but her desperation shot went wide.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS:

·         Hartford dominated every facet of the match, holding a commanding14-2 advantage in shots and a 6-1 edge in corner kicks.

·         Maine got just one shot off in each period.

·         One of the Black Bears' two shots reached the target, but Jurg came up with the easy save in the 30th minute on an attempt by Charlene Achille.

·         For the Black Bears, Dube-Trempe totaled three saves.

NEWS & NOTES:

·         Sunday's victory marked the 103rd win of head coach John Natale's career.

·         With a career record of 103-84-39, Natale ties former Hawks' coach Austin Daniels for the most wins in program history.

·         Hartford has now reached the title match of the America East Championship in each of the last two seasons.

·         The Hawks have shut out an America East-best nine opponents this season with Sunday's 1-0 defeat of Maine.

·         Improving to 3-1-2 in their last six games against the Black Bears, the Hawks hold an 18-7-6 lead in the all-time series.

·         Jurg improved her league-best shutout total to nine with Sunday's 1-0 blanking of Maine.

·         Galipo's goal in the 73rd minute marked the senior's first this season, and the 10th of her career.

·         The Hawks are 20-8-3 all-time in tournament play and have won at least one game in each of the last four seasons.

UP NEXT:                                                                    
A trip to the America East Championship's title match is up for the Hawks, as they will host the winner of Sunday's second semifinal match between No. 2 UAlbany/No. 3 Vermont. With the championship game set for a 2 p.m. kickoff from Al-Marzook Field at Alumni Stadium on Sunday, Nov. 8, Hartford will look to capture its first tournament title and NCAA bid since 2006.