ONEONTA, NY– It comes down to one game for the Hartwick College men's soccer team. A year removed from a dismal 2-14-1 record, the Hawks are just one win away from qualifying for the Mid-American Conference semifinals. The Hawks host Northern Illinois on Saturday at 5 p.m. in the final game of the regular season. Akron, NIU, and Buffalo already have sewn up spots in the semis with the final berth up for grabs with the Hawks, Western Michigan, and Bowling Green all still alive.
THE GAME:
Saturday, November 5, 2011
Elmore Field
Northern Illinois (11-5, 3-2 MAC) @ Hartwick (5-5-5, 1-1-3 MAC) - 5 p.m.
WHAT GETS THE HAWKS IN:
A win over Northern Illinois
OR
A tie versus NIU and a Western Michigan-Bowling Green tie
OR
A tie versus NIU and a Bowling Green win over Western Michigan
SENIOR NIGHT:
In a ceremony prior to the match Hartwick's men's soccer program will pay homage to four players participating in their final games on Elmore Field. Senior captain Pat Thompson (Candor, NY/Candor), senior back Jherrett Maroney (Cincinnatus, NY/Stony Brook Univ.), senior back Joel Collins (Johnson City, NY/Binghamton Univ.), and junior midfielder Greg Mathers (Macclesfield, England/Binghamton Univ.) will each be honored.
SERIES HISTORY: The Hawks have had success against the Huskies in their previous five meetings with a 4-1 record. The two clubs played for the first time in 1991 with Hartwick coming away with a 1-0 home win. After a 16-year hiatus, 'Wick earned a big 3-0 shutout of the Huskies on Elmore in the two teams' first MAC encounter. Ashton Henry, Austin McCann, and Chris Sardon picked up the Hawk tallies in the second half of play. The following year, NIU secured its first and only triumph over the Hawks, 2-1 in overtime, in Dekalb, IL. Steven Amaya scored for Hartwick in the 11th minute, but Brad Horton tied the score in the 76th minute for NIU. Drew Jeskey found the net for the game-winner 2:31 into the second overtime. The Hawks battled to a 2-1 win on Elmore in 2009. Nick Pratico tallied on a header from Michael Cunningham and Owen Botting for a 1-0 'Wick advantage. Tim King evened the match in the 78th minute only to have Nick Roydhouse net the game-winner for the Hawks with 3:50 remaining in regulation.
RPI COMPARISON: With three straight draws, the Hawks slipped in the NCAA Men's Soccer RPI (Ratings Percentage Index). However, Hartwick is still rated 103rd out of 203 Division I clubs in the nation. The Northern Illinois University Huskies rank 16th in the RPI.
MATHERS GAINS MAC HONOR: Greg Mathers was tabbed the MAC Men's Soccer Player of the Week, announced by the league office on Tuesday. After scoring only two goals this year and three in his two seasons at Hartwick, Mathers erupted for four goals in Saturday's 4-4 tie with Western Michigan. He becomes the first Hartwick player to receive the honor since the program joined the MAC in 2007. Mathers opened the scoring against the Broncos in the 7th minute as he accepted a cross and drove a near-post shot in off the post. In the 34th minute, he extended the Hawks' lead, tallying on a direct kick from the left corner of the WMU box. In the second half, after WMU had evened the score, Mathers broke the tie with a penalty kick goal. Twenty-six seconds later, he extended the advantage finishing from 12 yards away. The four-goal total and eight-point game are both tied for 1st in NCAA Division I soccer this season. Mathers leads the Hawks in goals scored (7), assists (4), and points (18).
HAWK LEADERS:Mathers ranks in the top 100 in the nation in three separate offensive categories. He is 53rd in points per game (1.23) and 73rd in goals per game (0.46). Mathers is also tied for 67th in total goals with 7. Cleyon Brown and Simon Greatwich each have a pair of goals and three assists for the Hawks this season. Brown notched the game-winning tally in a 2-1 win over Adelphi, while Greatwich scored the clincher in a 4-1 home win against FAU. Tim Crawford has scored two goals and added two assists this season and Jherrett Maroney has a pair of goals and one helper. Crawford scored he lone goal in 'Wick's 1-0 shutout of Central Connecticut State. Maroney picked up the winner in a 1-0 blanking of St. Joseph's. Will Broomfield has a goal and two assists for the Blue and White. Goalkeeper Tom Buckner has played over 1,000 minutes this season. He has a 3-4-3 record with a goals against average of 1.42. He has 38 saves and one clean sheet on the season.
NIU AT A GLANCE:The Huskies, at one point this season, were ranked #13 in the nation after five straight wins. They are currently in the “receiving votes” category in the latest national poll. The team went 3-4 over a seven-game span before notching MAC victories over WMU, Florida Atlantic, and Bowling Green by a combined 7-0. NIU lost on the road in its final non-conference game at Milwaukee on Wednesday. This season, the Huskies rank 4th in the nation in shutout percentage (0.60). The club has surrendered only 11 goals in 16 games this season. NIU sits 11th nationally in goals against average (0.65) and 76th in scoring offense, averaging 1.47 goals per outing.
NIU PLAYERS TO WATCH: Offensively, the Huskies have spread the wealth this season with seven players accumulating at least six points. Stevenson leads the team in goals scored (5) and points (12). Pat Sloan adds four goals and two assists and Gael Rivera chips in with three goals and three helpers. Darbaki and Kannah each have four assists to pace the team, Jayson LeSeth has two tallies and three assists, and Paul Hogan has found the net on three occasions. The defense is anchored by goalkeeper Jordan Godsey, who has logged all 1482 minutes for the Huskies. He ranks 14th nationally in goals against average (0.67) and 23rd in save percentage (.820).
