ONEONTA, NY – A pair of quality teams await Hartwick's men's soccer team this weekend in Peoria, IL, site of the Bradley University Hotels at Grand Prairie Classic. The Hawks play the host Bradley Braves Friday night at 8 p.m. EST and the Mercer University Bears on Sunday at 1 p.m. Both games will be played at Bradley's Shea Stadium.
           
Free live stats and pay-per-view webcasts will be available throughout the tournament. The cost of each webcast is $4.95. Links to the action can be found by clicking here:
           
“We will have our hands full,” said Hartwick head coach John Scott. “Bradley was ranked in the top 25 until this week and they've been in the NCAA Tournament the past two seasons. Mercer is a very strong team as well. We're going to have to be at our very best.”
           
Scott's Hawks came up short in overtime last Friday night at St. Joseph's University by a final score of 2-1. 'Wick will need a stronger team effort this weekend to get favorable results.
           
“We didn't play particularly well defensively on Friday,” added Scott. “But, we've sorted some things out and we are hoping for much better.”
           
After falling behind on a controversial St. Joe's goal in the 4^th minute, Hartwick's Will Broomfield (Brighton, England) evened the match in the 22^nd minute on a header. The game remained scoreless until the hosts broke the tie 5:48 into the first overtime. Mateo Munarriz (Manizares, Colombia) ended the match with 10 stops for 'Wick.
           
Bradley entered the season ranked 25^th in the NSCAA National Poll. The Braves opened with a 2-0 shutout of Eastern Illinois but fell 2-1 in overtime two days later to Hartwick's Mid-American Conference counterpart, Western Michigan. Jochen Graf has all three of the Braves' tallies this season. Teammate Wojciech Wojcik has assisted on all three goals.
           
“They are a big, physical team,” stated Scott. “they're going to pressure us with balls in the box and we'll need to be organized and disciplined on the defensive end. Mercer should be very similar to them.”
           
The Bears are 0-2 but have played two top teams. They dropped a 2-1 decision to nationally ranked UAB in their opener and lost in overtime, 2-1, to North Carolina State.
           
“This weekend is going to be a great challenge for us,” said the 'Wick skipper. “It's great experience to play these types of games which help prepare us for programs in the MAC like Akron and West Virginia. It's the type of weekend we've been looking for but it's possible we might need a little luck against both teams.”