THE BASICS:
RESULT: Hartford 1, Vermont 0
RECORDS: Hartford (5-6-3, 1-1-2 America East); Vermont (9-5-1, 1-3-1 AE)
LOCATION: Virtue Field (Burlington, Vt.)
THE LEAD:
Senior midfielder
Quenton Swift netted the game's only goal in the 83
rd minute and the University of Hartford Men's Soccer team (5-6-3, 1-1-2 America East) iced Vermont, 1-0, in Burlington, Vt., on Saturday night. The Catamounts (9-5-1, 1-3-0 AE) came into the matchup as the hottest offense in America East, leading the conference in goals (28) and assists (23). But Vermont couldn't crack Hartford's defense, which earned it's conference-best sixth shutout of the season behind freshman keeper
Jimmy Slayton's career-best 10 saves.
HOW IT HAPPENED:
- Swift broke a scoreless tie, notching his second goal of the season with just seven minutes left to play. Swift's goal came following a throw in by Hartford senior forward Jeff Tryon, who delivered the ball deep into the box. Vermont failed to clear and Swift cleaned up the loose ball, beating Catamounts keeper Aaron Runarsson to the far post.
- The Hawks' defense handed Vermont its second shutout of the season – and second in the past three games. The Catamounts were averaging 2.00 goals per game heading into Saturday's contest.
INSIDE THE NUMBERS:
- Vermont outshot the Hawks, 20-8, and led 9-2 on corner kicks.
- The Catamounts' 20 shots were the most by a Hartford opponent this season.
- Swift came off the bench to score the game-winner. He ranks fourth on the team with five points, behind Udi Cohen (eight), sophomore Andri Jonasson (seven) and Tryon (six).
NEWS & NOTES:
- Slayton's 10 saves were the most for a Hartford keeper since Nenad Cudic logged 10, in double-overtime against Penn State, in 2009. His previous-best was nine stops, against Iona, earlier this season.
- Slayton now has 41 saves on the year, ranking No. 8 all-time among Hartford freshmen. His goals against average (0.84) also ranks second on the Hawks' all-time rookie list., behind Rob Sondheim (0.74, in 1984).
UP NEXT:
Hartford will visit host No. 10 Syracuse (9-3-1, 3-2-1 ACC) on Tuesday night on Al-Marzook Field at Alumni Stadium, at 7 p.m. The two teams went head-to-head in 2015, when the Orange were ranked No. 15 in the nation, and Hartford earned a 2-2 draw on the road. This year's matchup will mark just the second meeting between the two programs.
