ONEONTA, NY – As has become tradition for Hartwick women's soccer, they won their first two games of the season and a share of the Brozman Cup for the sixth straight year. Fellow Empire 8 squad Utica also won both of their Cup matches, and were awarded a share of the title as a result. After beating Keuka 1-0 on Friday, the Hawks bested Morrisville by the same score on Saturday afternoon.
'Wick controlled play early but could not get much going offensively, with their best chance coming on a Courtney Velho (Derry, NH/Pinkerton Academy) header that went over the crossbar in the 18th minute. After several quiet minutes, Julia Collado (Whitehouse Station, NJ/Hunterdon) punched one home off the crossbar at 26:52 via a short pass from Hannah Bochniak (Barneveld, NY/Holland Patent). The goal was the first of Collado's career and the assist was the first of Bochniak's short collegiate tenure, coming in her second game. The rest of the half passed quietly, with shots by Velho and Morrisville's Jessica McGee both missing the mark as the only other scoring attempts in the first 45 minutes.
The second half picked up where the first left off, with no significant scoring chances, although there were more attempts. Hartwick earned a penalty kick after a Mustang foul in the box with under 12 minutes to go, but Collado's shot rang off the crossbar at 79:09. Nicole Chisdak (Vestal, NY/Vestal) got a shot off immediately after that was saved by Meaghan Miller, and the scramble was stopped by a Hawk handball. 'Wick did not allow any pressing chances from Morrisville for the rest of the game, and the clock ticked to zero with the score still 1-0 in favor of the hosts.
Collado stood out for the Hawks, tying for the game-high of three shots with Gabrielle Kreppein (Glens Falls, NY/South Glens Falls) and Chisdak, and putting all of her attempts on target. Katie Ziniti (Chester, NH/Pinkerton Academy) followed up her game-winning assist yesterday with two shots on goal today. Velho, Dana Caputo (Commack, NY/Commack), and Gina Fahrenholz (Scotch Plains, NJ/Scotch Plains Fanwood) once again led a strong defensive effort that gave Hartwick fans a lot of security when the ball was in their half. Cassandra Robataille (Amsterdam, NY/Amsterdam) had another easy day in net, making one save for her fourth-straight (dating back to last season) and 19th career shutout.
McGee and Dicenzo had the only shots for the Mustangs, and Miller was strong in net, allowing just one by and making nine saves. Overall, the Hawks outshot Morrisville 19-2 (10-1 on net), and had a 6-0 advantage on corner kicks.
Hartwick will co-host another tournament next weekend with SUNY Oneonta, as they look for their third Mayor's Cup trophy in five years. 'Wick will take on Susquehanna on Saturday, September 7 at 12:30 p.m. and get back at it the next day against Clarkson for a noon kick-off.
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