LORETTO, Pa. – The University of Hartford men's soccer team dropped the final game of a five-game road stand by a 1-0 decision against the Northeast Conference's Saint Francis University. Hartford (3-3-1) will return to Al-Marzook Field on Wednesday, October 1 to host neighbor Central Connecticut State University at 7 p.m.

The Red Flash opened the scoring early in the opening half when Francis de Vries connected with Pablo Medina for the game-winning tally. Medina served a ball into the bottom left corner of the box where Devries finished off the play with a header in the 13th minute for his third goal of the season.

Hartford led the match overall with 16 shots compared to eight from the home team, while the Hawks placed six of those attempts on goal forcing the Red Flash keeper to make six saves. Hartford's offense was led junior Javoni Simms, who fired five of the 16 Hartford shots, putting three on target. Hawks' keeper David MacKinnon finished the match with three saves.

GAME HIGHLIGHTS

• Hartford had the first scoring opportunity of the afternoon contest early in the 11th minute when Javoni Simms fired a shot on target that forced the Red Flash keeper, Andrew Garcia, to make his first save of the game.
• Saint Francis put the first and only tally on the scoreboard in the 13th minute with Francis Devries heading in his third goal of the season.
• Hartford tested the Red Flash keeper twice more in the opening half, the first of those attempts from senior defender Rohan Roye in the 23rd minute and the second in the 32nd minute from Simms.
• Coming out of the intermission, Hartford would again be the first to test the waters with Simms placing his third shot on target in the 62nd minute with Garcia collecting the save.
• The Hawks keeper, David MacKinnon would manage a pair of scoring opportunities from the Red Flash, with the first of which not coming until the 77th minute. Overall for the match, MacKinnon finished with three saves. 
   

GOALS RUNDOWN

• The only goal in the game came in the 13th minute when Saint Francis' Francis Devries finished off a well-placed pass to the bottom left corner of the box from Pablo Medina. Devries was able to head in his third goal of the season for the early advantage. 

INSIDE THE NUMBERS

• Hartford outshot its fourth opponent of the season, finishing with a 16-8 advantage led by junior Javoni Simms who finished with five total shots, including a team-best three shots on goal.
• As a team, Hartford also led the way with 10 total corner kicks, compared to five for the Red Flash. This marks the fourth game in the current five game road stand that Hartford has forced more corners than their opponent.
• The loss for the Hawks is the first of the season in goals decided by one goal, previously 3-0 in the previous one-goal decision.

TWEETABLES (140 characters or less) 

• JR Javoni Simms led the Hawks with five shots as Hartford led Red Flash with 16 overall shots, eight of which were marked on goal.
• Sophomore keeper David MacKinnon finished with three saves, his fourth game with three saves, now with 34 for the season.
• The loss to Saint Francis is the first all-time against the Red Flash. The only previous meeting came 17 years ago at the St. John's tourny. 
   

UP NEXT
Hartford returns home for the first time since posting a 1-0 win over Villanova on September 6 when it hosts neighboring rival Central Connecticut on Wednesday, October 1. Meeting for the eighth time in as many seasons, the Hawks seek their third-straight victory over the Blue Devils with kickoff scheduled for 7 p.m.

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