WEST HARTFORD, Conn. - The University of Hartford men's soccer team secured a conference win on Hartford's senior day this Saturday afternoon defeating the University of New England, 4-0.

Rapid Recap:

• The match opened with some foul trouble, Hawks senior Kellijah Morgan (Kingston, Jamaica) was fouled in the sixth minute of the match; setting the tone for an exciting match. In the 14th minute of the match junior Nick Castrovinci (Roxbury, N.J.) struck first with a sensational goal off the feet of sophomore Austin Murawski (Rocky Hill, Conn.) and senior Devan Jessop (Ashaway, R.I). Hawks lead early 1-0.  The Hawks had another promising opportunity when Morgan was set up for a penalty kick in the 20th minute of the match. The Nor'Easters keep McCarthy made a crucial save for the team to keep the lead at just one. Morgan was not discouraged as he went on to test the Nor'Easters defense with two back to back shots within the next two minutes. In the 26th minute, Hartford doubled their lead  with another goal from Castrovinci this time off the foot of Morgan. The Nor'Easters had a last minute chance on net to close the gap with shot by Refel that was saved by Hawks keep junior Ryan Lunn (Southington, Conn.). Hawks defended their shutout as they headed into halftime with a 2-0 lead.
• The Nor'Easters opened the second half with fire with back to back shots from Smith and Calver. Calver's shot was blocked and saved by Lunn. In the 55th minute Morgan had a special senior day moment finding the back of the net with an assist from Jessop. Hawks continued their lead 3-0. Hawks remained aggressive with powerful shots on net from Murawski and Morgan to continue their lead in the 63rd minute, both shots were saved by UNE keep McCarthy. Shortly after in the 76th minute Jessop claimed a goal of his own with an assist by Murawski and freshman Jared Noble (Nesconset, N.Y.), extending the lead to 4-0. The intensity of the game remained high until the final minutes of the match trading foul for foul. Hartford's defense held strong against UNE's last attempt at net with a shot by Kiersted that was up and out. Hawks secured their shutout victory, 4-0.

Post Game Press:
"It was a great win," said senior Devan Jessop (Ashaway, R.I.). "We showed great fight, good unity, and that's exactly what we talked about before the game and to myself. I had a good performance with two assists and a goal to help the team. I am just really happy about the three points and most importantly the shut out on senior day. We just have to keep pushing now and get more points. We will have to level ourselves for the conference tournament and continue to climb the rankings."

Jessop continued to say, "We are dogs and we are not easy to beat. If you want to beat us it's going to be a really hard game and we are here to compete for a title. Last year unfortunately we couldn't compete, but now we can qualify and we have two trophies on our mind."

Inside the Numbers: 

• Senior Devan Jessop (Ashaway, R.I.) celebrated his senior day with an impressive performance, claiming his first career goal in addition to two assists.
• Senior Kellijah Morgan (Kingston, Jamaica) drilled his 8th goal of the season in today's match.
• Junior Nick Castrovinci had a career high of two goals in this afternoon's game with 51 minutes of play.
• UNE keep McCarthy put up seven saves for the team this afternoon.

Up Next:
The Hawks will travel to face off against Western New England University on Tuesday Oct. 22nd at 3:30 p.m.

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