SPRINGFIELD, Mass. - The Hartford men's soccer team dropped its contest to Western New England University in the first round of the Conference of New England (CNE) Playoffs falling by a 0-0 (3-2) final in penalties.
Rapid Recap:
- The Golden Bears would get the first chance in the 15th minute as Andrew Macca would get a shot saved by junior Cristian Vitti (Stamford, Conn.). Tyler Lewis would have another chance in the 30th minute drawing the second Vitti save of the afternoon. Hartford would get an attempt in the 42nd minute as freshman Rory Ohalloran (Stamford, Conn.) took a shot but Brendan L'Italien made the save as the teams were even at 0-0 into the break.
- The Hawks started the second half strong with three chances but L'Italien would stop all three shots to keep the game tied. Lewis would get the next chance in the 63rd minute but Vitti stayed to the task making another tremendous block. Freshman Cole Jones (Plainville, Conn.) would have a crazy chance in the 83rd minute, but the ball just went above the bar. Junior Jared Noble (Nesconset, N.Y.) would have a final attempt before the end of full time, but L'Italien made the stop as we headed into extra time.
- In the first 10 minute overtime period the Golden Bears would have four corner kicks and getting one shot on target, but Vitti kept the sheet clean. In the second 10 minute session the Golden Bears stayed as the aggressors getting two chances, but once again Vitti was superb as the game was tied 0-0 headed to penalty kicks.
- Noble would step up and miss wide, followed by a make by the Golden Bears. Junior Brayden Tahiliani (Toronto, Ontario) would make the second shot, but Owe Dieterle would take the 2-1 advantage. Jones would hit the net and Vitti would save a shot from Tyler Lewis as the teams were even at 2-2. Both senior Ron Palillo (Stony Brook, N.Y.) and graduate student Zaire Wharton (Queens, N.Y.) would both miss the target as the Golden Bears would win by the 3-2 margin.
Inside the Numbers:
- Vitti would stop five shots in the loss, while also making a save in the shootout.
- L'Italien would make five saves in the win.
- WNE out shot the Hawks 14-13 with a 6-5 on target differential. Hartford had 24 fould to the Golden Bears four.
Up Next:
This concludes the Hawks men's soccer season. Hartford ends with a 7-7-3 record on the year.
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