Men’s Soccer Ties Buffalo; Hawks in Sole Possession
of 4^th Place in MAC
 

            BUFFALO, NY – Hartwick (5-5-5) came away with its third straight Mid-American Conference tie on Wednesday night as the Hawks secured a 1-1 draw with the University at Buffalo. Reigning MAC Player of the Week Greg Mathers (Macclesfield, England/Binghamton University) scored for the fifth time in the last two games in the first half on a direct kick, but the Bulls countered just before halftime following a long throw-in for the game’s scoring.
            The Hawks are now alone in fourth place in the MAC tables with six points (1-1-3 record), one point in front of fifth-place Western Michigan (1-2-2) and two in front of sixth-place Bowling Green (1-3-1). All three teams play in one more conference game this Saturday.
            “As a group, we had a great performance to earn a point on the road,” said Hartwick skipper John Scott at the conclusion of the match. “We’re disappointed not to get a full three points because I think we deserved it, but it was not for a lack of effort.”
             The Hawks held a 5-3 edge in shots through the opening 30 minutes of the match. Mathers had a pair of shots go wide of the target and outside back Jherrett Maroney (Cincinnatus, NY/Stony Brook Univ.) sent a screaming shot wide of the near post after a run into the Buffalo end during the span.
            Mathers broke the deadlock with 12:03 left to play in the half. He struck a free kick from the left corner of the Bulls’ box roughly 25 yards away past UB goalie Ryan Aubrey for the lead. It marked the second straight game the junior forward has tallied from a spot kick after he scored from close to the same location on the field on Saturday versus Western Michigan.
            “I felt we really deserved that opening goal,” added Scott. “We we were putting a lot of pressure on their defense and we were rewarded.”
            The Hawks had two more chances after the tally, but a Mathers’ effort was saved by Aubrey and Joel Collins (Johnson City, NY/Binghamton University) had an opportunity go wide of the goal. The Bulls evened the match on a set piece. A long throw-in by the Bulls in the Hartwick end fell right in front of the Hawks’ net and a scramble ensued. Jesse Andoh was there to clean up as he scored his first goal of the season for UB. Matthew Chereson earned the assist.
            Both teams took five shots in the second half of play, but neither could produce the go-ahead tally. Perhaps the Bulls’ best chance in the second 45 minutes came off a dangerous corner kick that went just wide of Hartwick goalkeeper Tom Buckner (Oxford, England/Henley College) with 15 minutes remaining. Maroney broke into the box on the right side of Buffalo’s goal four minutes later but he put his shot wide of the near post.
            Hartwick maintained much of the possession throughout the first overtime period. UB had one corner but the Hawks had the only two shots, both of which were high over the crossbar.
            ’Wick continued to be the more attack-minded club in the second overtime. The Hawks had a great chance to end the game with two and a half minutes to play. Forward Jason Keefe (Springfield, MA/Springfield Central) ran onto a bouncing through ball and was in on goal 20 yards away, but before he could put the ball up and over Aubrey for the winner, a Bull defender got a piece of the ball and redirected it wide for a corner.
            The Bulls held a 2-0 edge in shots in the final overtime, with neither shot troubled Buckner. The Hawks earned three corners in the final two and a half minutes but could find the game-winner.
            “I felt we were the better side on the night,” added Scott. “They were under a lot of pressure for 110 minutes because of our ball movement and work rate and when they did counter, our defenders handled it well.”
            The Hawks ended the game with 17 shots to UB’s 12, which included a 10-5 edge in the first half. The Hawks also took eight of the night’s 10 corners.
            Buckner made three saves for Hartwick. Aubrey ended the night with four stops.
            Hartwick, which closes the regular season on Saturday at home against Northern Illinois (11-4, 3-2 MAC), can not only seal a spot in the MAC playoffs, but can also earn the third seed with a win over the Huskies. The Hawks can also qualify with a tie against NIU coupled with either a Western Michigan-Bowling Green tie or a Falcon victory on Saturday.
            “It comes down to our final home game,” said Scott. “It’s right there for the taking for the boys. We played some splendid football at every position tonight and we want to continue that for Saturday and get the result we’ve worked so hard for this season.”
            The Hawks and Huskies kick off Saturday on Elmore at 5 p.m.

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