WEST HARTFORD, Conn. – The University of Hartford and American University endured 110 minutes of scoreless action on Friday night, as the two men’s soccer squads battled to a 0-0 deadlock at Al-Marzook Field at Alumni Stadium. With the tie, the Hawks remain undefeated in 2013 with a 3-0-2 overall record while the Eagles shift to 1-2-2 on the year.

A physical match that featured 44 fouls and eight cards issued between the two squads, Hartford generated 14 shots, doubling the amount of its opponents, but was unable to put the finishing touches on any of its quality attempts. Freshman David MacKinnon was called into action twice on the evening and answered on both occasions, earning his third clean slate in as many starts.

He has not allowed a single goal since making his debut last Tuesday at halftime at Villanova, a stretch of 355 consecutive shutout minutes.

Leading the offensive attack for Hartford was sophomore Javoni Simms and senior Anthony Santaga, who registered five and four shots, respectively. Two of Santaga’s opportunities were put on goal, forcing American netminder Billy Knutsen into action. Knutsen finished with four saves on the night, including an impressive stop on what could have been the game-ending tally, a point-blank Santaga shot from five yards out in the 97th minute.

Outshooting its opposition, 14-7, in the first period, Hartford boasted the two best scoring attempts of the opening stretch, the first of which came off the boot of Simms early in the match and the final look coming in the closing minutes by Santaga.

In the 11th minute, junior Omar Tall pushed a lateral pass from the left side of the 18-yard box to Simms. After gathering the feed, Simms sent a bullet from eight yards away, but Knutsen made the stop for his first save of the evening.

Later in the half, Simms again generated some offense for the Hawks, pushing a deep pass downfield on a breakaway opportunity in the 41st minute. His ball found a streaking Santaga who blasted a shot on the run towards the goal, but was inches too high as his attempt ricocheted off the crossbar to keep the match scoreless leading up to the break.

Hartford continued to fire shots in to American’s zone after the intermission, holding an 8-4 advantage during that stretch. Rookie Jeff Tryon took his first of two shots in the 50th minute, misfiring just wide of the left goal post while in the 66th minute, Tall got his right foot behind a long attempt from beyond the penalty area, but missed high.

The final two minutes of regulation featured an exciting series of close calls for the Hawks. A scrum inside of the 18-yard box turned into a series of passes off the heads of Jhamie Hyde and Bernhardsson that were directed to the right boot of Santaga. The senior was right on the mark, but Knutsen was in place to make the save in the 88th minute.

Less than a minute later, the final attempt of regulation was initiated by Bernhardsson. After shaking American defender Jake Garcia in a one-on-one battle in the box, Bernhardsson shifted a pass to Simms. Firing a shot off his head, Simms was just high of the goal in the 89th minute.  

Forced to play one player short after Simms was whistled for his second card with 84 seconds remaining in overtime number one, Hartford was unable to muster up a shot in the final 11 minutes and 24 seconds.

The Hawks return to the road for their next contest, traveling to Poughkeepsie, N.Y., to take on the Marist Red Foxes on Tuesday. Hartford has never lost a match to Marist, owning an impressive 5-0-2 mark against its foes from the MAAC. Game time is scheduled for 7 p.m.  

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