BUFFALO, NY – Three different Hawks registered goals as the Hartwick men's soccer team opened up Mid-American Conference play with a 3-1 victory over Buffalo on Tuesday night. The win is Hartwick's third in a row and the team improves to 4-2-1 overall and 1-0 in the conference. The Bulls fall to 3-3 and 0-1.
'Wick's offensive woes experienced earlier in the season seem to be a thing of the past as the Hawks have now scored seven goals in the last three matches. The squad opened the season with just one tally in its first four games.
Junior Nick Pratico (Philadelphia, PA/Archbishop Ryan) opened the scoring in the 11th minute for Hartwick with his first goal of the season when he headed in an Owen Botting (Billingshurst, England/Heidelburg College) corner kick. It was Pratico's second career tally in a Hartwick uniform. For Botting, it was his second helper of the year and ninth of his career with the Hawks.
Seventeen and a half minutes later, 'Wick added to its total as Jumol Harewood (Brooklyn, NY/Bryant & Stratton) scored his first of the year. Steven Amaya (Oakland Gardens, NY/Martin Luther King) created the play as he ripped a shot that Buffalo keeper Nick Fetterman stopped but couldn't hang onto. Harewood was there to put the ball home for the 2-0 Hartwick lead.
The Bulls quickly got one back as Mike Unwin finished off a ball from Steffan Thoresen just 2:16 after the Hawks took a two-goal lead and the half would end with the Hawks leading by a 2-1 count.
Hartwick leading point producer Nick Roydhouse (Palmerston, New Zealand/Palmerston N.) would give the Hawks a two-goal cushion once again just after halftime. From just inside the 18-yard box on the left side of the goal, the sophomore marksman found the netting just inside the far post past Fetterman giving the Hawks a 3-1 edge after five minutes elapsed in the half.
'Wick continued to pressure the Buffalo goal with three straight shots over the next 10 minutes of play before the Bulls began to move forward. Buffalo would out-shoot the Hawks 9-3 over the final 30 minutes but Jeremy Vuolo (Downingtown, PA/W. Downingtown) made four saves in the span to secure the victory.
The Hawks, who have now surrendered just three goals in the opening seven matches, improve to 4-1-1 all-time against Buffalo with the win. The team returns home to Elmore for a Saturday night match with nationally 15th ranked Dartmouth at 7 p.m.
Hartwick Notes: Head coach Ian McIntyre, with today's win, now has 101 in his head coaching career. He broke the 100-win mark on Saturday against Hartford. He has 65 wins at Hartwick in seven seasons and won another 36 as the boss at Oneonta State from 1999-2002.
