Hawks Fall In America East Men's Soccer Title Game
 
THE BASICS:
 
RESULT: Albany 1, Hartford 0
RECORDS: Albany (12-5-2, 4-2-1 America East), Hartford (9-10-3, 2-3-2 America East)
LOCATION: Bob Ford Field (Albany, N.Y.)

THE LEAD:
 
The University of Hartford men's soccer team's postseason run came to an end in the America East Conference Championship game on Sunday at the University of Albany. The No. 2-seeded Great Danes (12-5-2, 4-2-1 AE) took the title on the strength of a penalty kick from junior forward Afonso Pinheiro in the 89^th minute.
 
The Hawks (9-10-3, 2-3-2 AE) defeated No. 4 New Hampshire in the quarterfinals and beat top-seeded Stony Brook in the semifinals to reach the title game for the third time in four years. It was the Hawks fourth trip to the finals in six seasons under head coach Tom Poitras. The win secured Albany's first-ever America East men's soccer championship.
 

HOW IT HAPPENED:

• Albany was awarded the penalty kick when freshman goalkeeper Jimmy Slayton came out and made a sliding tackle on Pinheiro near the top of the box. Pinheiro had slipped behind the defense and forced Slayton to advance, drawing the foul in the process.
• Slight hesitation by Pinheiro on the penalty kick drew Slayton to his right and Pinheiro dribbled a shot to the left, tucking it just inside the post.

 
 
INSIDE THE NUMBERS:

• Albany outshot the Hawks, 19-2, and led in shots on goal, 10-0. The Great Danes also held a 14-2 edge in corner kicks.
• Senior Quenton Swift and freshman Alexis Triadis accounted for Hartford's shots.
• Slayton's nine saves were one shy of tying his career best, which came against Vermont on Oct. 15.

 

NEWS & NOTES:

• Hartford, picked to finish seventh in the America East preseason coaches' poll, made its third conference championship appearance in the past four seasons. The Hawks have been to the title games four times under Poitras, who just concluded his sixth season with the program.
• Counting the regular season match, which finished in a 0-0 draw, the Hawks and Great Danes played 189 minutes of scoreless soccer before Pinheiro's penalty kick.
• The Hawks (No. 5) were the only lower seed to advance at any stage during the conference tournament, beating both No. 4 UNH and No. 1 Stony Brook.
• Freshman Gael Kisombe and junior defender Andre Morrison started all 22 games for the Hawks this season.
• Sunday marked the final match for Hartford seniors Jeff Tryon, Udi Cohen, David MacKinnon, Scott McKirgan and Swift. The Hawks went 38-27-14 (.570) during their careers, with three championship berths.