THE BASICS:
 
RESULT: Hartford 4, Wagner 1
RECORDS: Hartford (4-5-1); Wagner (3-4-2)
LOCATION: Hameline Field (Staten Island, N.Y.)
 
THE LEAD:
 
Sophomores Bridgette Alexander and Kaila Lozada scored two goals apiece on Thursday night as the University of Hartford women's soccer team downed Wagner, 4-1, in its non-conference finale on Hameline Field. Lozada, who scored the game-winner on her second goal in the 41st minute, added an assist to finish the match with five points, a career high.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED:

• With the field tilting heavily in favor of Hartford in the opening part of the match, the Hawks cracked the scoreboard in the 19th minute after capitalizing on a 50-50 ball near midfield following a Wagner goal kick. After sophomore Sierra Stone gained control, she sent a pass to Lozada, who dribbled through two defenders and sank a high shot into the bottom right corner of the net to give Hartford the edge.
• Lozada struck again in the 41st minute to provide the Hawks with a 2-0 lead at the break. An uncontrolled ball on a goal kick from Hartford keeper Maia Perez was directed towards Stone, who sent a through ball to Lozada. From just outside the 18-yard box, the forward unleashed a low strike towards the far post, beating Wagner keeper Delaney Beck to double the Hawks' advantage.
• It didn't take long for Hartford to double its halftime lead, as Alexander struck twice within the first eight minutes of the second stanza to make it 4-0 inside of the 54th minute. At the 50:15 mark, the forward scored her first goal of the night after her shot from 16-yards out bounced off the far post and into the back of the net.
• Less than three minutes later, Alexander connected on a centering pass from Lozada for her second goal. Receiving the ball from the near corner, she lofted a shot from point-blank range to the upper left part of the net to extend the Hawks' advantage to 4-0.
• The Hawks' defense dominated for the majority of the match, but saw their clean sheet get disrupted in the 71st minute on Wagner's third shot attempt of the night. Le'la Allen put the Seahawks on the board with a shot from point-blank range, but Wagner would not threaten again for the remainder of the game.

 
INSIDE THE NUMBERS & NOTES:

• The Hawks defense was suffocating in the first half, as the Seahawks were held without a shot attempt for the entire 45-minute stretch.
• Outshooting Wagner, 13-0, in the opening half, Hartford went on to own a commanding, 23-8 advantage in shots.
• With her first career multi-goal outing, Lozada became the first Hawk this season to score multiple times in a match. Alexander also notched the first multi-score game of her career.
• Stone was credited with the assist on each of Lozada's goals to improve her team-best total to three.
• Perez made three saves between the posts to earn her fourth career win.
• Defeating Wagner for the third-straight season, Hartford improves to 3-0-1 all-time against the Seahawks with Thursday's win.

 
UP NEXT:
The final match of a four-game road trip lands the Hawks at UMass Lowell for their America East opener on Sunday, Sept. 24. Hartford will begin the quest for the program's fourth-straight regular-season title with a 4 p.m. opening kickoff from Cushing Field.