VESTAL, N.Y. — Sophomore Nadav Datner's 76th minute strike guided the Hawks past Binghamton, 1-0, to clinch a spot in the America East Playoffs. Freshman Rotem Fadida tallied one save to keep his second shutout of the season. Hartford improved to 3-1 overall and 3-1 in conference play while Binghamton finished their season at 2-4.
 
HARTFORD 1, BINGHAMTON 0
Rotem Fadida was called into action in the opening minute of the game as he saved a shot down to his left to keep the Bearcats from taking an early lead. Jovante Etienne would have the Hawk's best chance of the half in the 5th minute, as his curling effort barely missed wide right of the goal. Hartford would continue to dominate the game, keeping the ball in the Binghamton side of the field. The Hawks would almost strike again in the 39th minute as Datner saw his initial shot blocked before his close-range effort be denied by the Bearcats goalkeeper. Neither team would open up the scoring in the first half as the game remain deadlocked at 0-0 entering the halftime break.
 
The second half was a battle of the midfield as neither team could muster any serious threat on goal. The Hawks would find their opportunity to strike in the 76th minute when Etienne sent a brilliant through ball into the path of Datner, who calmly guided the ball past the Binghamton goalkeeper to give Hartford the 1-0 lead. Senior Rasmus Karlsson had a chance to double the advantage three minutes later, but his strike was well saved. The Hawks defense would stand strong for the closing minutes, blocking a Bearcat shot destined for the back net, to preserve the 1-0 victory and clinch a spot in the America East Playoffs.

"The first half today was our best and most dominant performance so far this season, we deserved to have a goal show for it" head coach Tom Poitras said. "The second half was just a mature, well-managed half that featured a quality goal and good team defending".

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE & HARTFORD NOTES
·       Datner scored his third goal of the season on the afternoon
·       Etienne dished out his first assist of the year
·       Fadida finished with one save to keep his second shutout
·       The Hawks held an 8-5 advantage in shots and a 9-4 lead in corner kicks
·       Datner and freshman Nate Becher led the offensive effort with two shots each
·       Hartford has now defeated the Bearcats for the fourth consecutive game
 
NEXT ON TAP
The Hawks conclude their 2021 regular season with a pair of home games, starting with a matchup against UMass Lowell on Monday (April 5). The contest was originally scheduled to be played on March 19. Kickoff from Al-Marzook Field against the River Hawks is set for 4 p.m.

For more information on the Hartford men's soccer team, stay with HartfordHawks.com for updates and follow the team on social media (Twitter | Facebook | Instagram).