AMHERST, Mass. – Freshman Jeff Tryon scored his first goal as a Hawk to help push the University of Hartford men's soccer team past the Massachusetts Minutemen, 1-0, at Rudd Field on Wednesday afternoon. With their fourth-straight win over UMass, the Hawks keep their undefeated record intact at 3-0-1, while the Minutemen drop to 0-4-1.

Scoring in the 71st minute, and just four minutes after re-entering the match in the second half, Tryon's marker awarded Hartford its best four-game start since 2007 when the Hawks also posted a 3-0-1 record to start the year. The best start in program history through four games is a 4-0-0 mark that came in 1984, Hartford's first season as member of the NCAA's highest ranking.

Also contributing to the Hawks' win was David MacKinnon, who made five saves between the pipes. A rookie, MacKinnon has not allowed a goal since his college debut at Villanova last week, a stretch of 245 minutes. The clean slate is the second of his young career.

The two teams played an almost even first half, with the home team holding a slight 9-8 edge in shot attempts. Three of Hartford's looks were on target, forcing UMass' starting keeper Ryan Buckingham to make one save through the first 18:26 and his replacement, Nick Ruiz, to turn away a pair of shots.

Sophomore forward Javoni Simms rifled the Hawks' second shot of the game in the 16th minute, forcing Buckingham into action for the only time. David Bernhardsson, a senior, put another attempt on goal in the 24th minute, but saw Ruiz make the save on his attempt. In his college debut, Nathan Bodenstein put Hartford's final shot on target seven minutes before halftime. Ruiz was up to the challenge though, making the save to send the match into the half with the score deadlocked at zero.

In the second half, UMass held the advantage in shots however it was Hartford that made the most out of its three attempts. At the 70:38 mark, Simms earned his first assist of the season after pushing a pass across the 18-yard box and feeding Tryon, who put the finishing touches on the game-winning tally. 

Each of Hartford's three game-winning goals this season has come at the 70 minute mark or later.

The Hawks head back home to prepare for their next test, a home game against the American Eagles on Friday under the lights of Al-Marzook Field at Alumni Stadium. Kickoff is scheduled for 7 p.m. Tickets are still available and can be purchased by calling the Malcolm and Brenda Berman Athletics Ticket Office at 860.768.HAWK or online using this link https://hartford.streamlineticketing.com/. Tickets will also be sold outside of the main entrance of Alumni Stadium prior to the match.

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