ONEONTA, NY – Hartwick's men's soccer team dropped a heartbreaker to Alfred, 4-3, in double overtime Saturday on Elmore Field. The Hawks had a 2-0 lead in the second half and were less than a minute away from securing the win, but an Alfred goal late in regulation and another with 6:08 left in the second overtime handed the visitors the victory.
           
With the result, the Hawks fall to 2-7 on the season while the Saxons improve to 4-8.
           
Hartwick got off a great start as it scored inside 10 minutes. Freshman Jake Zona (Liverpool, NY/Liverpool) received a pass from classmate Tyler Muir (Poughquag, NY/Arlington) 25 yards from goal. He snuck past two defenders and hammered a shot on frame that was too much for Alfred keeper Ben Middlemiss to handle. The ball squirted through his hands and trickled past the goal line for the 1-0 'Wick lead.
           
The Hawks were back at it less than three minutes later. Hector Ferreira (East Williston, NY/The Wheatley School) played a ball wide to Joey Bertone (Jamesville, NY/Jamesville-DeWitt), who served a ball into the AU box. After touching a Saxon defender's head, Troy Amegashie (Accra, Ghana/Tema International School) was there to slot home to the near post just out of Middlemiss' reach to double the Hawk margin to 2-0.
           
The Hawks dodged a bullet with 3:15 left in the first half as they were whistled for a penalty kick. After consulting with his AR, however, the referee reconsidered his decision and no kick was given, allowing Hartwick to enter halftime up 2-0.
           
AU broke through at 53:25 following a corner kick from Zachary Gloskin. His effort floated right near the Hawks' goal line where Winston Thomas got a head to it. The ball deflected backwards where Evan Merkey was there to slam the ball into the side netting to cut the Hawks' lead in half.
           
Just over six minutes later, a Hartwick foul in the box resulted in a Saxon penalty. Leading scorer Justin Eaton put the ball in past Britt Reisman (Vero Beach, FL/Saint Edward's School) and the game was tied with 30 minutes remaining.
           
The match stayed tied for 12 and a half minutes. After Jimmy Noel (Cap Haitian, Haiti/Baldwin) served a free kick in from midfield, Drew Crawford's (Queensbury, NY/Queensbury) diagonal ball somehow eluded multiple Saxon defenders and made its way to Zona. He would beat a defender and deposit the ball up high just inside the near post to put 'Wick in front once again.
           
Hartwick was unlucky not to get an insurance goal with just under nine minutes left after a nice individual effort from Amegashie. After slipping through defenders in the box, he got the ball past the AU keeper but it was stopped near the goal line by the Saxon defense. Amegashie slid to try and knock it in a yard from the line but multiple backs and the Saxon goalkeeper combined to keep the ball out and keep it a one-goal game.
           
With under a minute to play, Eaton scored his tenth of the year as he pounced on a loose ball after a Saxon free kick, heading home from six yards away, and the game was tied.
           
In overtime, Alfred had all four shots. The final one was the clincher as a ball played over the top of the 'Wick defense from Eaton was tracked down by Saif Alseyofi. He picked his head up to see Reisman off his line before popping the ball over his head for the winner 3:52 into the second extra session.
           
The Saxons closed the match with a 21-10 edge in shots. They earned eight corners to the Hawks' three. Reisman made seven saves for the Hawks in goal. Middlemiss stopped four shots.
           
Hartwick is back on Elmore on Wednesday night when it hosts Wilkes beginning at 7 p.m.
           
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