PHILADELPHIA, Pa. – Javoni Simms, the reigning America East Rookie of the Year, netted a goal in the 33rd minute for the University of Hartford men's soccer team, but Villanova countered 12 minutes later as the two teams went on to play to a 1-1 draw on Tuesday afternoon at the Villanova Soccer Complex. The Hawks (1-0-1) will look to keep their unbeaten record intact at home on Friday night when they play host to the Siena Saints at 7 p.m.

The first half featured an offensive outburst as both squads combined for 21 shots, with Hartford and Villanova (0-1-1) each reaching the back of the net once before the intermission. During that stretch, Hawk keeper Viltsu Tuumi, who earned the starting nod, was forced to make three saves while his counterpart Andrew Weakly also tallied a trio of stops.

At the 32:10 mark, Simms put the Hawks up on the board, heading home the match's first tally by using a series of touch passes from juniors Rohan Roye and Omar Tall, who was just inserted into the game. The assist was Tall's second of the year as he provided the pass on David Bernhardsson's game-winning goal four nights ago against Holy Cross.

With 53 seconds to play before the intermission, Villanova struck back as Adetomiwa Adewole tracked down a rebound and found Willis Griffith who directed a shot past Tuumi to knot the score up at 1-1.

Tuesday proved to be a tale of two halves as ample scoring opportunities in the opening 45 minutes turned into a defensive battle for the remainder of the match. The two squads attempted just 13 total shots in the second period, a stretch that saw David MacKinnon make his debut between the pipes for Hartford.

MacKinnon turned away five Villanova shot attempts to help the Hawks hold on for the tie. The Hawk defense kept their opponents offense at bay during the two overtime periods, conceding just three shots in that stretch.

Hartford outshot Villanova, 7-3, in overtime which included a 4-0 edge in the first period of extra time. Senior Anthony Santaga put a pair of headers on the mark in the 92nd and 99th minutes to potentially end the match. But Weakly was in place to make two of his six saves on those opportunities and the contest ended in a draw.

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