RESULT: T, 0-0 2ot
RECORDS: Hartford (0-0-1), Holy Cross (0-0-1)
LOCATION: Al-Marzook Field at Alumni Stadium (West Hartford, Conn.)
THE LEAD: The University of Hartford men's soccer team began its 2015 with a 0-0 tie against Holy Cross on Friday evening at Al-Marzook Field. Junior goalkeeper David MacKinnon made registered three saves on the night for the Hawks, who extended their home unbeaten streak to 13 matches with the draw. Senior Javoni Simms and juniorBrian Richards paced the offense with three shot attempts apiece as the Hawks outshot the Crusaders, 11-6, over the 110 minutes. 

HOW IT HAPPENED:

• The Hawks were the aggressors in the opening half, as they held a 3-2 shot advantage during that stretch and kept the ball deep in the attacking third for the majority of the period. The first quality shot of the match was produced by Hartford out of a corner kick in the 13th minute of the new season. JuniorUdi Cohen served a ball out of the set play into the box, and Brian Richards sent his header off the crossbar.
• Holy Cross' offense was held at bay by the Hawks' back line as it did not see its first look until the 7:16 mark of the opening half. Diego Ceron took the honors on a free kick from 26-yards out and fired a shot over Hartford's wall into the hands of goalkeeper David MacKinnon. It was his lone save of the half.
• Hartford continued to apply the pressure offensively and had a near miss in the 57th minute on the counter attack. Using a centering pass, Richards found senior Javoni Simms streaking in the box, but his low blast missed just wide of the target.
• MacKinnon would be tested two more times in the match as he made the stop on a Tyler Bell's shot from the top of a box on a breakaway in the 71st minute. With 70 seconds remaining in the first overtime, MacKinnon kept the match going and forced a second overtime after coming away with the save on Joey DeVivo's shot.
• With the final seconds of regulation winding off of the clock, the Hawks had one more chance to break the draw out of a throw-in. Junior Jeff Tryon took the honors with under 10 seconds remaining. His toss found the head of redshirt-junior Emerson De Brito, but his shot landed right in the hands of Holy Cross goalkeeper Kevin Wright to force overtime between the two squads. 

INSIDE THE NUMBERS:

• Junior David MacKinnon made three saves, a game-high, on the night to preserve the shutout for the Hawks
• Kevin Wright, his counterpart, was forced to make a pair of stops, one of which came on a strike by Hartford junior Brian Richards
• The Hawks held advantages in both corner kicks (7-2) and shots (11-6), and saw a 3-1 advantage in shots during the two extra periods
• Senior Javoni Simms and Richards led the Hawks' attack with three shot attempts apiece

NEWS & NOTES:

• With Friday night's season-opening draw, Hartford extended its unbeaten streak at Al-Marzook Field at Alumni Stadium to 13 matches. During that stretch, Hartford has gone 11-0-2, with its last loss coming to UBMC on October 5, 2013.
• Hartford shifts to 11-3-3 in the all-time series and has gone unbeaten against Holy Cross in the last six meetings (3-0-3).
• Between the pipes, junior David MacKinnon earned his 17th career shutout and is now tied for second in Hartford's Division I history (1984-present).
• The Hawks have gone unbeaten in their last three season openers and are 1-0-2 during that stretch; all three of those meetings have come against Holy Cross.
• Picked as a co-favorite to win the America East, Hartford entered the new season receiving votes in the NSCAA Preseason rankings.

UP NEXT:
The Hawks kick-off a five-match road trip on Tuesday, September 1 when they head to Siena for a 7 p.m. kickoff.

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