Men's Soccer 11/5/2011 2:43:00 PM Chris Gondek, Hartwick SID

Hartwick Men’s Soccer Ends Season With 2-1 Loss to Northern Illinois

Men's Soccer 11/5/2011 2:43:00 PM Chris Gondek, Hartwick SID

Hartwick Men’s Soccer Ends Season With 2-1 Loss to Northern Illinois

Greg Mathers tallied for Hartwick in its 2-1 loss to NIU Saturday.

             ONEONTA, NY– Men's soccer's 2011 campaign came to a close on Saturday night as the Hawks fell by a 2-1 margin to Northern Illinois on Elmore Field. The Hawks, who needed a victory to clinch a berth in the Mid-American Conference semifinals, end the season 5-6-5 overall and 1-2-3 in the MAC. The Huskies clinch the tournament's #2 seed next weekend and improve to 12-5 overall and 4-2 in the conference with the win.
            NIU leading scorer James Stevenson headed home what would prove to be the game-winner off a corner kick at the 63:59 mark, 47 seconds after Hartwick evened the score at 1-1.
            Prior to the match, the Hawks learned that a tie would not be good enough to earn a playoff berth as Western Michigan prevailed 2-1 in its season finale over Bowling Green. The result gave the Broncos eight points in the standings to the Hawks' six meaning a win would be necessary to push 'Wick through.
            A victory, however, would be hard to come by against the Huskies, who came to Elmore boasting the 11^th stingiest defense in the country with a goals against average of just 0.65 per game. NIU, which was ranked as high as 13^th in the national polls earlier in the year entered the game just out of the top-25 in the “receiving votes” category.
            NIU had the first good scoring chance five minutes into the match. Karim Darbaki lifted a free kick 23 yards from Hartwick's goal up and over the wall, but Hawk goalkeeper Tom Buckner (Oxford, England/Henley College) got his fingertip to the ball deflecting it over the crossbar.
            Three and a half minutes later, the Hawks had their best scoring chance of the opening frame. Midfielder Simon Greatwich (Lewes, England/Lewes Priory) played the ball into the left corner of the field for forward Cleyon Brown (Kingston, Jamaica/Berkshire School). He collected the ball and played it into the box on the ground for teammate Greg Mathers (Macclesfield, England/Binghamton Univ.) who eluded an NIU defender and fired a low, bouncing shot that trickled inches wide of the far post.
            With 20 minutes left in the half, Darbaki had another free kick opportunity from roughly 20 yards away. Buckner again got a hand to his shot and pushed it over the top for a corner. The only shot on target from the Hawks in the half came with 12:30 remaining on a 20-yard shot from Mathers but it was right at NIU keeper Jordan Godsey.
            NIU held a 5-4 edge in shots through the first 45 minutes. Buckner made three saves for 'Wick.
            The Huskies got on the scoreboard 7:43 into the second half of play. Sean Totsch stole the ball in the middle of the field, took a few dribbles and unleashed a right-footed laser from 35 yards away that froze Buckner and found the top shelf inside the far-post for the lead.
            Hartwick pressed for the tying goal and made good on one of its first opportunities of the half just under nine minutes later. Godsey robbed Mathers on a shot from 22 yards away but the Hawks earned a corner.
             Greatwich played it into the box but it was headed out by an NIU back for another. On the second corner, he played a ball to Mathers at the corner of the 18-yard box. Mathers blasted in a low shot that got through Godsey to tie the game at 1-1. The goal marked Mathers' eighth of the year. It was also his sixth straight goal for the Hawks dating back to a four-goal effort versus Western Michigan last Saturday.
            The lead was short-lived, though, as NIU would regain the advantage under a minute later. The Huskies won a corner kick and Jayson LeSeth delivered a ball into the box that found the head of Stevenson. He beat Buckner to the ball and his far-post header gave visitors had the lead for good.
            The Hawks had a free kick with just under 22 minutes remaining from a similar spot that Mathers had converted against both WMU and Buffalo in the past seven days. This effort, however, was right at Godsey.
            The last opportunity for 'Wick came with five and a half minutes left in regulation. After a ball was played into the NIU box, Will Broomfield (Brighton, England/Cloud Community College) flicked on a header that was just out of reach of Brown who was unable to get a foot to the ball.
            The Huskies closed the match with a 13-8 edge in shots and a 5-4 advantage in corners. Buckner made five saves. Godsey stopped three.
            “A few luckier bounces here and there in the last few games, and we make the playoffs,” said Hartwick head coach John Scott after the match. “That's really all that separated us. I'm very proud of the boys for what they've accomplished this season. They left it all on the field. We've laid the foundation this season and we're only going to get better.”
            The game marked the final one for Hartwick seniors Pat Thompson (Candor, NY/Candor HS), Jherrett Maroney (Cincinnatus, NY/Stony Brook Univ.), Joel Collins (Johnson City, NY/Johnson City), and Mathers, who will graduate a year early.

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