CAMBRIDGE, Mass.  – The University of Hartford men's soccer team dropped a 4-1 decision on the road to Harvard on Friday night at Orini Field. Senior defender Connor Yeaney scored the Hawks' lone goal in the setback in the second half, but it was not enough to erase a 2-0 first-half deficit as the Crimson responded with a pair of unanswered scores to end the match.

Hartford dips to 3-2-1 on the year while Harvard improves to 2-3-0 with its second-straight triumph. In the midst of a five-game road trip, the Hawks return to action on Tuesday when they head to American, currently the No. 12 ranked team in the nation, for a 3 p.m. tilt.

GAME HIGHLIGHTS:

• Harvard got on the scoreboard quickly as Hiroki Kobayashi gave his squad a lead it would not relinquish on the eighth minute after scoring on a header
• Hartford came close to leveling the score on a free kick inside of the box as Udi Cohen tried to catch the Crimson defense off guard with a quick restart; Harvard keeper Evan Mendez was in place to make the save
• Prior to that, the Hawks had seen three of their other shot attempts go on goal, but Mendez made stops on all of those shots
• Before the end of the period, Harvard doubled its advantage to 2-0 on an Oliver White goal
• Out of the break, senior defender Connor Yeaney got the Hawks on the board and closed the gap to a single goal after his diving header off a corner kick pass from Javoni Simms in the 56th minute reached the back of the net
• Harvard closed on the match with two unanswered scores from Schmoll and Barna in the 60th and 72nd minutes, respectively, to earn the 4-1 win 

INSIDE THE NUMBERS:

• David MacKinnon, a sophomore goalkeeper, made a game-high seven saves
• Harvard held advantages in shots (22-14) and corner kicks (6-2)  

GOALS SUMMARY:

• Harvard reached the board early as Hiroki Kobayashi got his head on a short pass from Andrew Wheeler-Omiunu and sent a shot past Hartford keeper David MacKinnon in the eighth minute
• With 10 minutes left in the first, the Crimson capitalized on a 2-on-1 break with Oliver White finishing on a feed from Tyler Savitsky to make it a 2-0 advantage at the half
• On a set play, Hartford capitalized in the 56th minute; Javoni Simms took the honors on a corner kick and defender Connor Yeaney headed home the Hawks first, and lone, goal of the contest
• Tim Schmoll extended Harvard's advantage to 3-1 less than four minutes later, heading in a pass from Christian Sady out of a corner kick
• The game was put out of reach in the 72nd minute as David Barna worked off a touch pass from Savitsky and fired a shot past MacKinnon to make it a 4-1 contest 

TWEETABLES (140 characters or less):

• Connor Yeaney, a senior defender, netted Hartford's lone goal in its 4-1 setback at Harvard on Friday afternoon
• Redshirt freshman Scott McKirgan made his debut in net for the Hawks, relieving David MacKinnon for the final 14 minutes
• Half of Hartford's 14 shots were on target, forcing Crimson keeper Evan Mendez to make six saves 

UP NEXT:

The Hawks wrap up their five-game road trek with a pair of midweek matches. Following a 3 p.m. tilt at the home of No. 12 American on Tuesday afternoon, the Hawks head to Philadelphia for a Thursday afternoon matchup at St. Francis (3 p.m.). 

---

RECOMMENDED FOR YOU

Men's NCAA Tournament First Round Recap

Men's NCAA Tournament Round Two Preview

TeamRank Presented By TeamSnap - Boys