ONEONTA, NY – Hartwick scored twice in the first half and held off Binghamton in the second to earn its ninth win on the season on Tuesday night on Elmore Field. The Hawks scored twice in the first half 16 minutes apart. The Bearcats would tie the score early in the first half, but the 'Wick defense held off any more serious threats for the win. Hartwick, which has not been beaten in its last 11 matches dating back to Sept. 11th, snaps a four-game winless streak against BU (0-3-1) with the victory. The Bearcats slip to 9-8-1.
The Hawks closed the match with a huge margin in shots (19-7), including a 13-3 edge in the second half alone. The Blue and White got on the board at the 19:32 mark of the first half. A nice combination on the right side of the field by sophomore Nick Roydhouse (Palmerston, New Zealand) and freshman Konrad Andersson (Helsingborg, Sweden/Filbornaskolan) brought about a low cross into the box. The ball found its way to sophomore Patrick Thompson (Candor, NY/Candor) who slotted the ball into the back of the net past Bearcat keeper Jason Stenta (Binghamton, NY/Chenango Valley). It was Thompson's first career tally in a Hartwick uniform.
'Wick extended its lead with just under 10 minutes remaining in the opening half. Reserve Simon Greatwich (Lewes, England/Lewes Priory) broke into the box on the left side of the goal and looked to cross the ball at the corner of the six-yard box. A Bearcat defender attempted to clear the cross but redirected the ball instead into his own net to hand the Hawks a 2-0 lead.
The Hawks came out in the second half with Dan Summers (Banstead, England/Sutton Grammar) and Steven Amaya (Oakland Gardens, NY/Martin Luther King) registering shots on goal forcing saves from Stenta, but it was the Bearcats who would get a goal at the opposite end of the field on their first opportunity to score. BU's Yusuf Yusuf (Chestnut Ridge, NY/Ramapo) played a cross into the box from the left side which was met perfectly by back Kyle Manscuk (Rochester, NY/Aquinas). His glancing header eluded Hartwick's Jeremy Vuolo (Downingtown, PA/Downingtown West) to the far post to cut the 'Wick lead in half with 37 minutes left to play. It was Manscuk's 3rd tally of the 2009 season.
With the score 2-1, the Hawk defense clamped down and limited the Bearcat scoring chances for the remainder of the match. Binghamton had one late opportunity with less than a minute to play with a free kick just inside midfield. The service into the box, however, was corralled by Vuolo to preserve the win.
The Hawks travel to top-ranked and unbeaten Akron (16-0, 5-0 MAC) on Saturday for their final conference match of the season. Binghamton hosts UMBC in the America East playoffs on Saturday at 7 p.m.
