SYRACUSE, NY – Two goals 9:09 apart in the second half was the difference as the Hartwick College men's soccer team lost 2-0 to nationally 20^th ranked Syracuse University at SU Soccer Stadium Monday night.

Grant Chong opened the scoring at the 50-minute mark after a goalless first half. Nick Perea gave the Orange an insurance goal at 59:09.

The Hawks slip to 0-1-1 on the year. The Orange, which is coached by former Hartwick skipper and All-American player Ian McIntyre, improves to 2-0.

'Wick generated a few chances in the early going of the match with neither reaching the target. Tim Crawford (Webster, NY/Webster Thomas HS) had a shot go wide in the 8^th minute and David Styles (Bognor Regis, England/St. Phillip Howard) had a shot blocked by an Orange defender just under two minutes later.

"We came out ready to play in the first 15 minutes," said Hartwick coach John Scott. "We created chances but couldn't score."

Syracuse had the final four shots of the half, but none of them made it to Hartwick goalkeeper Mateo Munarriz (Manizales, Colombia/Colegio Granadino) as the half ended 0-0.

"As the game settled in, they began to carry play," added Scott. "But they didn't have any dangerous chances as Mateo had no saves to make."

The Orange pressured the Hawks in the beginning stages of the second half. After two shots from Chong in the first two and a half minutes, he was finally rewarded two and a half minutes later as he finished past Munarriz on a shot from the left side of the box. It marked the first shot on goal by either team in the match. Alex Halis earned an assist on the play.

Perea delivered a two-goal cushion for his team in the 60^th minute with an unassisted tally.

"We got caught trying to play them offsides on the first goal. The second was a wicked deflection."

Neither team generated many scoring chances the rest of the half. The Orange had the final four shots, two from Stefanos Stamoulacatos, which forced saves from Munarriz.

"We continued to fight until the end. We just found the chances hard to come by."

Hartwick hosts the Mayor's Cup this coming weekend on Elmore Field. The Hawks play Robert Morris Friday at 5 p.m. and #22 Cornell University on Sunday at 3 p.m.