WEST HARTFORD, Conn.  –  The University of Hartford men's soccer team stormed back from a 1-0 deficit and took down the visiting Central Connecticut State University Blue Devils, 3-1, on Wednesday night at Al-Marzook Field at Alumni Stadium. Playing at home for the first time in five matches and a 25-day span, the Hawks remain perfect in their three matches in West Hartford and improve to 4-3-2 on the season. The Blue Devils, who had won three of their last four, drop to 4-4-0.

The Hawks shook off a sluggish start that featured a Blue Devils' score on their first shot attempt – a blast from Filosmar Cordeiro in the fourth minute – and took a 2-1 advantage into intermission. Setting up the equalizer by feeding junior forwardJavoni Simms in the 19th minute, senior midfielder Rohan Roye chalked up his second assist of the night after classmate Aleko Petridis put the finishing touches on his cross in the 44th minute to give Hartford a halftime lead it would not relinquish.

Continuing to control the tempo in the second half, Hartford, which benefited from an extra field player for the final 22 minutes as CCSU's Dominic Plant received a red card, added an insurance tally to the scoreboard in the 85th minute thanks to sophomore Romario Jones' first career goal. Between the pipes, sophomore David MacKinnon tallied three saves for Hartford, which outshot its neighboring rival by a 16-9 margin and improves to 12-6-2 in the all-time series. Furthermore, the Hawks, who have not dropped a home match to the Blue Devils since 1986, improve their win-streak over CCSU to three.

Wednesday's contest served as Hartford's final tune-up before America East Conference play commences on Saturday night at Binghamton. Game time is slated for 7 p.m. from the Bearcats Sports Complex.

GOALS SUMMARY:

• Central Connecticut converted on its first shot attempt in the fourth minute, as Filosmar Cordeiro gathered a pass from Stephen Walmsley and hit the far upper 90 with a blast from 20 yards out
• With numbers in the Blue Devils' third, the Hawks knotted up the match in the 19th minute on a goal fromJavoni Simms; taking a pass down field from senior Rohan Roye, the junior forward sent a low shot from 10-yards out and beat CCSU keeper Josef Abele to the far right corner to make it a 1-1 contest
• Hartford took a lead it would not relinquish in the closing minutes of the opening half; Roye was credited with his second assist on the night in the 44th minute as senior midfielder Aleko Petridis put the finishing touches on his cross for his first score of the season
• Sophomore Romario Jones capitalized on Hartford's extra-man advantage and provided a two-goal cushion heading into the final five minutes with his first career marker 

GAME HIGHLIGHTS:

• After CCSU hit the back of the net on its first scoring opportunity in the fourth minute, Hartford picked up the pace and had a pair of looks at the equalizer
• The Hawks' first quality attempt came in the 12th minute as sophomore midfielder Romario Jones had a near miss on a free kick from 25 yards out, coming just a foot wide of tying up the contest
• Less than two minutes later, the Hawks had another scoring chance on a scrum inside of the block; after gathering a loose ball, senior forward Omar Tall's point-blank shot was smothered by CCSU keeper Josef Abele
• In the 19th minute, Javoni Simms connected with Rohan Roye and tied up the match with his team-leading second goal of the season
• Hartford produced another scoring attempt in the 35th minute on a throw-in, but sophomore Jeff Tryon's header out of the reset hit the post
• David MacKinnon preserved the tie with a save on CCSU's Keir Hannity's shot from inside of the 18-yard box in the 40th minute before senior Aleko Petridis put the Hawks ahead, 2-1, right before intermission
• In the 67th minute, CCSU's Dominic Plant was issued a red card, providing the Hawks with the extra-man advantage on the field
• Twelve minutes before sophomore Romario Jones gave the Hawks a two-goal cushion in the 85th minute with his first career goal, Tryon put a header on goal on a feed from rookie Daniel Altman and just missed the near side 

INSIDE THE NUMBERS:

• After Hartford and CCSU finished even in shots after the first half, the Hawks held the Blue Devils to just two second-half attempts to finish with a 16-9 advantage
• Each team finished with four shots on goal
• Sophomores Jeff Tryon and Romario Jones led the Hawks' attack with five and four shots, respectively
• Sophomore goalkeeper David MacKinnon made three saves between the pipes to improve his mark to 4-3-2; for CCSU, Josef Abele also tallied three stops
• Hartford also held a 4-2 edge in corner kicks

 TWEETABLES (140 characters or less): 

• With the win over CCSU, the Hawks remain perfect in three home games at 3-0-0
• Hartford has now won three-straight over CCSU and has not lost to its neighboring rival at home since 1986
• JR forward Javoni Simms' game-tying goal in the 19th minute, his second of the season, boosted his team-leading point total to six
• Aleko Petridis, a SR midfielder, netted his first goal of the season at the 43:14 mark to give Hartford the one-goal advantage
• The Hawks' three goals against the Blue Devils marks the squad's first multi-goal match of the season
• SR Rohan Roye became the first Hawk to collect multiple assists in a match since Omar Tall had a pair in an OT win over Vermont last season
• Romario Jones, a SO midfielder, gave the Hawks their largest margin of victory this season over CCSU with his first career goal 

UP NEXT:

Hartford's time at home is short as it hits the road for the sixth time in seven matches for its America East opener. The league debut lands the Hawks at Binghamton, where the two foes will battle under the lights of the Bearcats Sports Complex with a 7 p.m. kickoff on Saturday. Last season, Hartford went 1-0-1 against Binghamton, scoring a 0-0 draw at home in the regular season meeting before ending the Bearcats' season in the opening round of the America East Championships via a 1-0 victory in West Hartford.

---

RECOMMENDED FOR YOU

ECNL Girls N. Atlantic Players to Watch

Women's NCAA Tournament Round Two Preview

Best of Men's College Soccer Week 13