BUFFALO, NY – Hartwick men's soccer suffered its first defeat in the Mid-American Conference on Tuesday night, 2-1, to the University at Buffalo (2-8-3, 1-2 MAC) at UB Stadium. The Hawks fell behind 2-0 in the second half before senior Will Broomfield (Brighton, England/Cloud Community College) cut it to 2-1 with less than six minutes left. The Hawks, however, could get no closer.

The loss snaps the Hawks' three-game unbeaten streak and drops them into a three-way tie for first place in the MAC with Akron and Bowling Green. 'Wick is 4-6-2 overall and 2-1 in the league.

"Credit goes to Buffalo tonight," said Hartwick skipper John Scott following the setback. "They were playing in a must-win game and their effort and desire earned them the victory."

The Bulls were firing from the opening kickoff as they were in search of their first home victory of the year. They took the first three shots of the match inside six minutes with 'Wick goalkeeper Mateo Munarriz (Manizales, Colombia/Colegio Granadino) needing to make one save.

Roughly ten minutes later, in the 17^th minute, the Hawks spotted the Bulls the lead. A through ball reached the Hartwick box where Munarriz came out to collect the ball under pressure. The ball squirted free and Marcus Hanson pounced on the loose ball and tucked it into an empty goal for the 1-0 advantage.

The hosts would hold a 7-2 edge in shots at one point, but the Hawks would control the final 15 minutes of the half, holding a large chunk of the ball possession with a 4-0 edge in shots. 'Wick's best scoring opportunity of the half came with 14 and a half minutes left in the stanza as Kit Tregear (Brighton, England/BHASVIC) got on the end of a Chris Walter (Amherst, NY/Nichols School) free kick, but his powerful header went high over UB's net.

The Bulls had several solid chances to add to their total in the second half. Shane Satar put a shot just wide from in close at 58:16. Less than five minutes later, Marek Albert slipped a shot past Munarriz just inside the box and the ball looked destined to roll into the empty net, but a Hartwick defender was able to slide just before the goal line and keep the ball out.

Albert would have another chance after an individual effort from teammate Russell Cicerone in the 73^rd minute. A Cicerone 40-yard run up the middle of the park followed by a short pass allowed Albert a wide open shot on the left side 12 yards from goal. He hammered a shot but it smacked off the post keeping the game a one-goal affair.

Cicerone would change that less than four minutes later. He had the ball 20 yards from Hartwick's goal. After pulling the ball from his left to his right to gain an angle at the target, he unleashed a perfect hooking high shot into the far corner which left Munarriz no chance to give the Bulls some insurance.

Despite the 2-0 deficit, the Hawks continued to press the UB end of the field. Broomfield brought the Hawks to within one after Marc Russell (Glasgow, Scotland/Woodfarm HS) delivered a pass across the top of the box for Broomfield who received it, moved around a defender and fired low past UB keeper Waleed Cassis with 5:49 left. It marked Broomfield's team-high fourth goal of the year and Russell's team-best third assist (Highlight).

"Will was a worthy goal scorer for us," added Scott. "He ran his socks off the whole game and never gave up."

The Hawks had one minor chance in the late stages when the speedy Max Walcott (London, England/West Herts College) received the ball 25 yards from goal with a minute and a half left. He was able to turn but a heavy first touch allowed Cassis to gobble the ball up before he had a chance at a strike.

The Bulls ended the match with a 16-10 advantage in shots. Hartwick took seven corners to the Bulls' one. Munarriz would make two saves for the Hawks. Cassis stopped one shot for Buffalo.

Hartwick is now 4-4-2 against the Bulls all-time. UB has not lost to the Hawks since 2009 with three wins and a tie over the last four years.

"We're disappointed of course but we'll take this on the chin and move on," stated Scott. "Overall, we didn't have enough individual performances tonight."

The Hawks are right back at it on Saturday in another critical MAC contest. 'Wick hosts Western Michigan on Elmore Field at 3 p.m.