WEST HARTFORD, Conn. — The University of Hartford's men's soccer team clinched the third see in the America East playoffs, coming back to defeat UMass Lowell, 3-2, on Wednesday evening. Junior Nyrik Antoine scored the game winner in the 85th minute after Rasmus Karlsson tied the game in the 82nd minute. With the win, the Hawks improve to 4-2-1 in conference play, while the River Hawks, who will be the fifth seed, drop to 3-4 in the America East.
 
HARTFORD 3, UMASS LOWELL 2
The Hawks would waste little time to get the offense going as Sergi Martinez forced a fine save from the River Hawks goalkeeper in the opening minute of the match. Senior goalkeeper Jimmy Slayton would be called into action for the first time in the 10th minute as we as able to make an easy save to keep the score leveled. Hartford would rattle off more chances before finding the breakthrough in the 35th minute. Tomer Drimmer sent in a corner kick that found the foot of Aitor Elena, who tapped it in to give the Hawks the 1-0. The score would remain 1-0 heading into the break.
 
UMass Lowell would tie the game up at one a piece in the 51st minute when Stanley Alves scored. The River Hawks would take the lead ten minutes later when Alves scored his second of the game. Hartford would continue to battle, looking for the equalizing goal, and would be rewarded in the 82nd minute. After winning the ball in the midfield, Antoine sent in a through ball to Rasmus Karlsson, who tucked it home past the goalkeeper to tie the game up at 2-2. The Hawks quickly took the lead two minutes later when Antoine would find the back of the net after pouncing on the rebound of his initial shot. The River Hawks would try and send the game into overtime late, but the Hawks defense stood strong as they preserved the 3-2 victory.
 
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE & HARTFORD NOTES

• Hartford earned the third seed in the America East playoffs with the victory
• Antoine scored the game winning goal for the second game in a row
• Antoine picked up his second assist of the year while Drimmer recorded his third
• Slayton finished the game with four saves
• Karlsson led the Hawks' offense with three shots
• The Hawks held the 16-13 advantage in shots and a 8-6 lead in shots on goal

 
NEXT ON TAP
As the third seed in the America East Tournament, the Hawks will host sixth-seeded Binghamton in a quarterfinal match on Saturday (Nov. 9) at 2 p.m. Tickets can be purchased by clicking here.
 
 
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