LA JOLLA, CA – Hartwick ended its California trip on Sunday with a pair of matches at the UC San Diego Triton Invitational at Canyonview Aquatic Center in La Jolla, CA. The Hawks lost their first match to #15 Long Beach State 9-3 and dropped a 12-6 decision to #13 San Diego State in the second.
           
The Hawks return home with a record of 2-8. Eight of 'Wick's 10 matches have come against Top 20 opposition.      
           
Against the 49ers in their first match, the Hawks took a 1-0 lead into the second quarter. Blanca Anton Cuesta (Madrid, Spain) scored for Hartwick with 1:41 left in the opening quarter. Long Beach jumped in front in the second period thanks to three straight goals in the first five minutes. Anton Cuesta answered for the hawks to make it a 3-2 game at halftime.
           
The 49ers controlled the second half as they outscored the Hawks by a margin of 6-1. They scored four times in the third quarter and led 7-2 before adding two more in the fourth. Lauren Brennan (Canberra, Australia) closed out the game's scoring with 1:05 left in the contest.   
           
In the team's second match, Hartwick played San Diego State to a 6-6 draw in the final three quarters, but they couldn't overcome a 6-0 first-quarter deficit.
           
The Hawks got as close as three goals twice, including once early in the fourth quarter, but the Aztecs scored five of the next six goals to pull away.           
           
Anton Cuesta led the Hawks with three goals. Brennan, Nikolina Mihajlovik (Mississauga, ONT), and Brittany Tait (Kariong, Australia) each registered one tally.           
           
Hartwick returns home and competes at the Bucknell Bison Invitational next weekend. The Hawks open play on Saturday, February 14 against Notre Dame (OH) in their first CWPA match of the season.