ONEONTA, NY – Nine Hartwick teams will be in action this weekend with four – men's soccer, football, and the men's and women's swimming and diving teams – playing at home. Volleyball heads across the street to SUCO Friday and Saturday with women's soccer, field hockey, and the 'Wick cross country teams all on the road elsewhere in New York State.



Men's Soccer (4-7-4, 2-2-1 MAC)
Sat., Nov. 2 vs. Northern Illinois (4-11, 0-3 MAC) – 3 p.m.
Live Stats
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Soccer matches don't get any bigger than Hartwick's clash with visiting Northern Illinois in a Mid-American Conference tilt on Saturday. It's a virtual must-win for both, but a victory for the Hawks would clinch their first MAC Tournament berth since 2009. A loss or tie, and Hartwick will have to wait out the rest of the league's matches over the next eight days.

The Hawks are coming off a pair of 110-minute overtime draws at Bowling Green last Saturday and at Albany on Tuesday. Head coach John Scott has felt good about the results of the two matches but could have done without the extra minutes.

"It's was very pleasing to come through 220 minutes of action unbeaten with virtually the same players and all within 72 hours," said Scott, "but there's no doubt the boys were extremely tired and weary going to bed on Tuesday night. Our number one goal leading up to Saturday is working towards recovery ahead of the NIU game."

Two years ago, the Hawks found themselves in a similar must-win situation in their season finale against the Huskies on Elmore. 'Wick would come up short, 2-1, ending its season short of the league playoffs.

"We know NIU well and know from past experience that they always have quality players that can make a difference," added Scott. "In 2011, they won the MAC playoffs and advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament, and last year they returned to the MAC Championship game. This year is no different as they possess real attacking threats in James Stevenson and Isaac Kannah. The implications of the game are huge and a win for us will cement a place in the top four."



Football (4-3, 1-3 Empire 8)
Sat., Nov. 2 vs. Buffalo State (4-4, 2-3 Empire 8) – 1 p.m.
Live Stats
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Hartwick football will be looking to snap a three-game slide within the Empire 8 Conference against Buffalo State on Saturday after opening the season with four straight notches in the win column. The game serves as Senior Day with 23 Hawks being honored prior to the game.

The Hawks played nationally 24^th ranked Salisbury tough last weekend, holding the Sea Gulls scoreless for the opening 29 minutes of action before falling in a 17-0 decision.

Senior linebacker Bryan Schweitzer (Babylon, NY/Babylon) and lineman R.J. Roth (Cornwall, NY/Cornwall) were the Hawks' top two tacklers in the game with a combined 20 hits, including three tackles for a loss and two sacks.

Schweitzer enters the game as the Hartwick all-time leader in forced fumbles (8). His 294 career tackles is tied for second with Anthony Tomaino and his 23 tackles for a loss rank ninth. Roth has accumulated 246 hits in his four seasons, which is good enough for eighth in the 'Wick record books. He is tied for fifth in tackles for a loss with 28.

The Bengals enter Wright Stadium winners of two straight Empire 8 games. They racked up 60 points in 32-point win over Frostburg State and scored three times in a 1:21 span to beat Utica by 15 points last weekend.

"Buffalo State has a lot of size and athleticism on both sides of the ball," stated head coach Mark Carr. "Last year's game was extremely competitive and we are expecting the same this year. Offensively, it is critical that we value the possession of the ball and conversely we need to create turnovers defensively."



Men's Swimming and Diving (3-0)
Sat., Nov. 2 vs. Rochester (1-2) – 1 p.m.

Hartwick men's swimming and diving faces an early-season test on Saturday at Moyer Pool with a meet against the visiting Rochester Yellowjackets.

The Hawks are off to a 3-0 start to the season. After a first-place showing at the Hartwick relays on Oct. 19, the team rolled past Cazenovia (152-15), St. Rose (130-88), and Utica (150-50) last Saturday. Seniors Luke Grunewald (New Windsor, NY/Newburgh Free Academy) and Brad Ranson (Pennington, NJ/Hopewell Valley) paced the Blue and White with a pair of victories. Grunewald won the 500 and 1000 freestyles while Ranson claimed top honors in the 100 and 200 freestyles.

Rochester is 1-2 on the young season with a win over Brandeis (267-75) and losses to Division I Canisius (104-264) and NYU (130.5-237.5).



Women's Swimming and Diving (3-0)
Sat., Nov. 2 vs. Rochester (1-2) – 1 p.m.

Like the men, the Hartwick women's swimming and diving team is off to a 3-0 start to the 2013-14 season. On Saturday, 'Wick hosts a Yellowjacket team which spent time in the national top 20 last season.

On Saturday, the Hawks got by St. Rose by a count of 129-105 and had an easy time with both Cazenovia (152-39) and Utica (152-48).

Junior Gwen Mathias (Sunland, CA) won the 500 free and the 1000 free, sophomore Imma Rutigliano (Tilson, NY/John A. Coleman) took the 200 individual medley and the 200 backstroke, and freshman Kelsey Elliot (Cortland, NY/Homer) won the 50 and 100 free on the day.

Rochester is also 1-2 after last weekend's UR Invitational. The team steamrolled Brandeis (310-34) but fell to both Canisius (147.5-220.5) and NYU (151-219).



Women's Soccer (7-7-3, 2-3-1 Empire 8)
Sat., Nov. 2 @ Alfred (5-12, 0-6 Empire 8) – 5 p.m.
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Women's soccer will wrap up its regular season schedule on Saturday with a 5 p.m. match at Alfred University. A win would not only mean the Hawks could earn a fifth-place finish in the final league standings, but also be eligible for their second straight postseason appearance after earning an ECAC bid last season.

"I believe this team has made very positive progress this year," said Matt Verni. "We used last year's experience and momentum as a springboard and I feel that we competed well and had chances to win every game we played. I'm really proud of this group and I hope they get an opportunity to compete for the ECAC Championship."

The Hawks secured two tough victories last week at RPI (1-0) and at home against St. John Fisher (2-1). Cristina Sicari (St. James, NY/Smithtown East) would score the game-winner against both the Engineers and the Cardinals. She would later be tabbed both the Empire 8 and the ECAC Upstate Offensive Player of the Week.

'Wick plays an Alfred team still looking for its first conference victory. They have tallied just once in six E8 contests and have been blanked 11 times overall. Hartwick is 25-1-3 against the Saxons all-time. AU's only win in the series came in the 1997 season.



Women's Cross Country / Men's Cross Country
Sat., Nov. 12 - @ Empire 8 Championships – 10:45 a.m. / 11:30 p.m.

Hartwick's cross country teams will travel to Saratoga Spa State Park for the 2013 conference championships on Saturday. The women's 5K begins at 10:45 a.m. with the men's 8K to follow at 11:30 am.

"Both teams have improved steadily since the start of the season," said Hartwick head coach Matt Pohren. "We are continuing to work on a shift of attitude and expectations that come with running and the experience of knowing we have what it takes to compete with anyone we run against. We have to expect it."

The Hartwick women took the Cross Country Only Conference title just a few short weeks ago. The team looks to continue the momentum into this Saturday.

"Winning CCOC's was huge," said Pohren. "Victoria Hathaway looks as strong as ever and has a chance for a top 10 finish and Monica Prager has been rehabbing a hamstring injury but should still look to run top 15. We are looking for Justin Kozubal to be close to Monica and our middle of the pack is really focusing on being close together in Tricia Phillips, Krista Poore and Becky Talbot."

The men took fifth place at the CCOC meet. The Hawks placed two runners in the top 15 and three in the top 20.
"All our men have improved since CCOC's but we are really looking for Ethan Kelly, Tim Mahony and Eric Moore to be there helping out Matt Loignon and Gavin Jenkins, who both have chances for top 15 finishes."



Field Hockey (5-12, 1-5 Empire 8)
Sat., Nov. 2 @ Ithaca (9-6, 3-3 Empire 8) – 1 p.m.
Live Stats
Video

Field Hockey plays the final game of its season Saturday at Ithaca. The Hawks can play the role of spoiler as a victory over the Bombers could keep them out of the Empire 8 playoffs.

The Hawks played a spirited game on Wednesday evening against nationally 14^th ranked Skidmore. After an early tally, the team held the Thoroughbreds' high-powered offense without a goal for nearly 50 consecutive minutes of action.

"We are excited about how well and how hard we played against a top-ranked team such as Skidmore," said Anna Meyer. "Our effort was outstanding and we really appeared to be putting the pieces together with this young team. We are working hard to end the season with a win. It would be a nice way to not only end the 2013 season, but would be a great foundation to begin to think about 2014."

The game will mark the final one in the careers of 'Wick seniors Catie Santaniello (West Islip, NY/West Islip), Hiliary Carlson (Foxboro, MA/Foxboro), Megan Lefeber (Riverton, CT/Northwestern Regional), Holley Reynolds (Walton, NY/Walton), and Katie Monbaron (Southington, CT/Southington).



Volleyball (11-18)
Fri., Nov. 2 vs. Plattsburgh State (13-13) – 3:30 p.m.
Fri., Nov. 2 vs. Montclair State (16-9) – 7:30 p.m.


Volleyball stays close to home as it heads to the Oneonta State Dig Pink Invitational on Friday and Saturday at SUCO's Dewar Arena. The Hawks have won three matches in a row entering the two-day event.

Last Saturday, 'Wick defeated Cazenovia on the road by three sets to one (25-13, 25-16, 15-25, 25-20) for its eleventh victory of the 2013 season.

Dana Martin (Chester, NY/Burke Catholic) and Hannah Strom (Kenmore, WA/Inglemoor) each registered nine kills with Mary Beth DeCuyke (Johnstown, NY/Johnstown) and Taylor Vonasek (Willington, CT/E.O. Smith) adding five apiece. Quincy Kinzel (Scotia, NY/Guilderland) had 26 assists.

Hartwick opens with the Plattsburgh State Cardinals and the Montclair State Red Hawks on Friday. Two matches will follow Saturday. The Cardinals are postseason bound after clinching the fourth seed in the upcoming SUNYAC Tournament. Montclair earned a spot in the NJAC playoffs with a 5-3 mark.