Hawks Fall At UMass Lowell, Earn No. 5 Seed In America East Playoffs
 
THE BASICS:
 
RESULT: UMass Lowell 2, Hartford 1
RECORDS: UMass Lowell (13-1-2, 5-1-1 America East), Hartford (7-9-3, 2-3-2 America East)
LOCATION: Cushing Field (Lowell, Mass.)

THE LEAD:
 
The University of Hartford Men's Soccer team (7-9-3, 2-3-2 America East) fought until the final whistle, but ran out of time in a 2-1 loss at UMass Lowell (13-1-2, 5-1-1 AE) on Wednesday night. Lowell took a 2-0 lead on second-half goals by freshman Ivan Blaskic and senior Wuilito Fernandes, before Hartford freshman Alexis Triadis cut the deficit to 2-1 in the 71^st minute. The Hawks couldn't get any closer and Lowell thwarted the comeback bid in the closing minutes, securing the America East regular season title.
 
Hartford (eight points) will enter the America East postseason as the No. 5 seed and will travel to take on No. 4 New Hampshire on Saturday, Nov. 5, at 1 p.m.
 

HOW IT HAPPENED:

• Blaskic, a freshman defender, gave the River Hawks a 1-0 lead in the 47^th minute off a corner kick by Dario Jovanovski. Jovanovski's cross bounced into the box and skipped through the defense, before Blaskic knocked it low inside the far post.
• After missing on a few early chances, Fernandes, a senior, broke through in the 65^th minute to make it 2-0. Fernandes took possession 20 yards out, charged into the box and fired a low shot as he was falling to the turf.
• Triadis cut the deficit to 2-1 in the 71^st minute. Triadis dribbled through traffic, beating two defenders before beating goalkeeper Austin Kroll low to his right on the unassisted goal.
• The Hawks kept the pressure on, but couldn't net the equalizer down the stretch. UMass Lowell successfully ran down the clock and held on to clinch the America East regular season title.

 
 
INSIDE THE NUMBERS:

• Lowell led in shots (16-4) and corner kicks (5-1).
• Fernandes accounted for seven of the River Hawks' shots.
• Hartford senior Quenton Swift led the Hawks with two shots.
• Triadis' goal was his second of the season. His first goal came on Sept. 16, at Iona.
• Freshman keeper Jimmy Slayton finished with four saves for Hartford.

NEWS & NOTES:

• The Hawks (eight points) earned the No. 5 seed in the America East playoffs. Stony Brook (13) points held the tiebreaker over No. 2 Albany (13 points) and No. 3 Vermont (12 points) had the tiebreaker against UNH (12 points).
• Stony Brook and Albany will both have byes in the quarterfinals this weekend, while Vermont will host No. 6 Binghamton (six points) and the Hawks will travel to face the Wildcats. Both games will be played on Saturday, Nov. 5, at 1 p.m.
• The River Hawks (16 points) clinched the America East regular season championship but, due to NCAA rules, the school cannot compete in the playoffs as a result of the River Hawks' move up to Division I, in 2013.
• This marks Hartford's return to the postseason after missing the playoffs this past season. The Hawks advanced to the America East Championship game in 2014, as the No. 2 seed, before losing to top-ranked UMBC.
• The last time Hartford was the No. 5 seed was in 2011. The Hawks beat No. 4 UMBC in the quarterfinals and knocked off No. 1 Boston University in the semis, but fell to Stony Brook in the title game.
• Freshman Gael Kisombe and junior defender Andre Morrison each made their 19^th start in 19 appearances this season.

 
 
UP NEXT:
Hartford will travel to New Hampshire (12-6-0, 4-3-0 AE) on Saturday, Nov. 5, at 1 p.m. It will mark the second matchup between the two teams in an eight-day stretch. The Hawks hosted the Wildcats on Saturday, Oct. 29, with UNH escaping with a 2-1 victory on Hartford's Senior Night. Chris Arling scored both of the Wildcats' goals in that game, while freshman Kelechi Akujobi had the lone tally for the Hawks. New Hampshire lost, 2-0, to Vermont in the regular-season finale on Wednesday.