Box Score


ONEONTA, NY – Hartwick men's soccer dropped its second straight Mid-American Conference game of the week in a 1-0 defeat at the hands of Western Michigan on Saturday at Elmore Field. A goal scored by Marco Lobo in front following a cross at 40:22 of the first half held up for the visiting Broncos as they stayed unbeaten in league play.

Hartwick outshot the visitors 8-3 in the second half as they frantically pressed for the tying goal but Lobo's effort ended up being the only tally of the day.

"We moved the ball and had WMU camped in their own half for long durations," said head coach John Scott. "Chances came and either we didn't get good enough connections on the ball or a WMU player was there to get an important block."

The Broncos had perhaps their best scoring chance of the first half inside of 15 seconds. A ball played over the top at midfield was slightly out of reach for a Hartwick defender who got his head on it but right in the path of a Bronco attacker who got in on goal. He attempted to flick the ball over Hartwick goalkeeper Mateo Munarriz (Manizales, Colombia/Colegio Granadino) who had charged out on the play. Munarriz got his hand to the ball but was out of his box, creating a free kick 18 yards away. Kyle Farris' restart hit the outside of the near post and out for a goal kick.

Chances were limited in the opening half with 'Wick firing several long-range shots. The Hawks had a close call with less than 16 minutes left in the stanza. Jack Miller (Commack, NY/Commack) sent a short header back across the WMU box into the mixer for Will Broomfield (Brighton, England/Cloud Community College). However, before Broomfield could get a head on the service, Bronco goalkeeper Chase Rau came off his line and was first to the ball.

The visitors broke through with 4:38 remaining in the half. A Bronco breakaway was snuffed by a sliding effort by defender Matthew Robertson (Banchory, Scotland/Binghamton U.) but WMU maintained possession deep in Hartwick territory. On the left side, Matheau Rogers served a low cross in through heavy traffic which Munarriz could not corral. Lobo was there to clean up the rebound as he slid and slammed it into the upper part of the Hartwick goal from seven yards away.

The half would end with WMU leading 1-0, but the Hawks would turn it up in the second half, holding possession in the Bronco end for a majority of the period. However, solid scoring chances were at a premium with neither team able to break through for a clear shot on goal.

Marc Russell (Glasgow, Scotland/Woodfarm HS) had a good look for the Hawks with 28 minutes left in the game. A cross into the box was nodded down by Mike Rood (Conklin, NY/Susquehanna Valley) perfectly for Russell who was 15 yards from goal. He didn't get as good of a foot on his shot, however, and the ball went right to Rau for a comfortable save.

The Broncos did not produce much offensively as they clung to the 1-0 lead. When they did, the 'Wick defense would thwart the opportunity. Some good ball work from WMU would bring about a one-versus-one situation on the right side with Munarriz and WMU's Hunter Vandenboom, who had loads of space with the ball moving in on goal. Miller did not give up on the play though and slid to deny Vandenboom after a 30 yard run at the last second to deny a sure goal.

The Hawks were dangerous in the final eight minutes but could not find the target. Nick Hills (Sydney, Australia/Colo HS) got into the box but ripped a near-post shot wide with two minutes left. Kit Tregear (Brighton, England/BHASVIC) had the last chance with a header with a minute left but it was sent wide.

"I thought we did enough to force overtime," added Scott. After conceding a soft goal in the first half we played much better in the second."

The Hawks finished with an 11-9 margin in shots and a 4-3 edge in corners. Munarriz made one save for Hartwick. Rau stopped two for the victors.

With the defeat, Hartwick (4-7-2, 2-2 MAC) slips to fourth place in the MAC standings behind Akron (3-1), WMU (2-0), and Bowling Green (2-1). The Hawks still have two games remaining on their league slate, including one against the third-place Falcons.

"All is still to play for and setbacks only make you work harder to get it right," stated Scott. "I have every confidence that we'll get over this by responding positively."