HANOVER, NH – A goal from Alexander Marsh with seven seconds left in the first overtime handed Hartwick a heartbreaking 1-0 defeat to Dartmouth in the NCAA Tournament First Round Thursday night at Burnham Field in Hanover, NH. Marshall grabbed a loose ball following a cross at the top of the Hartwick box. With his back to goal, he brought the ball to his right foot and unleashed a low drive that found the far corner to end the game.
            “We thought it would be a game that we had a real chance in,” said Hartwick head coach John Scott at the postgame press conference. “The boys played very well tonight. But credit Dartmouth. We wish them all the best moving forward”
            “It was pretty up and down and I feel like it could have gone either way,” Hartwick captain Jack Miller (Commack, NY/Commack) added. “We definitely had our chances and so did they. But I thought we defended well back to front. I feel like we were a little hard done by the decision.”
            Little separated the two sides in a brilliantly played game from start to finish. The Big Green would finish the game with an 18-13 edge in shots.
            In the first half, the Hawks held a great deal of possession for the opening 30 minutes of action. Marc Berry (Galashiels, Scotland/Galashiels Academy) got deep in the opening two minutes as he accepted a pass from Nick Hills (Garden Suburb, Australia/U. of Newcastle), got into the box, and put one on target, which Stefan Cleveland saved.
             Jamie O’Grady (Falkirk, Scotland/Falkirk) would get the ball deep into the box with 10 minutes elapsed before a Dartmouth defender would clear it out before he could get a shot off.
            ’Wick’s top two chances of the half came within three minutes of one another. An aerial ball into the Big Green penalty area was collected by Dean Fowler (Sydney, Australia/Colo). He had a narrow window to get a shot off and a trio of Big Green defenders closed him down and blocked his effort.
            Later, the Hawks threatened and the ball popped out to Hills at the top of the Dartmouth box. He fired but his shot inched past the far post.
            The Big Green’s best chance came with 7:15 remaining in the half. Leading scorer Amadu Kunateh lofted a shot from 22 yards over Hartwick keeper Lenny Wilson (Aberdeen, Scotland/Cults Academy) which hit the crossbar and bounced back in front of goal. Two Big Green players were on the doorstep, including Eric Jayne, who smacked a rebound off the bar, but the assistant referee whistled him for offside and the game finished at zeros at halftime.
            “Other than the brilliance from Kunateh to hit the bar, that was the only moment that troubled us through the whole first half,” Scott said.
            Dartmouth applied pressure to the Hawks in the second half. The Big Green had a few opportunities outside the box which were blocked and registered several dangerous set pieces sent into the penalty area which the Hawks fought off through 20 minutes.
            The Hawks turned the tables with less than 22 minutes left in the second half when they began to throw numbers forward. O’Grady had a few near-opportunities following some good buildup by the Hawks with 20 minutes left only to have both snuffed out by the Big Green defense before shots were taken.
            Hills had perhaps the best chance of the half for the Hawks as a corner fell to him in the Dartmouth box to the right of Big Green keeper Stefan Cleveland. Hills hammered a shot on the half volley that looked destined for the back of the net that took a deflection and went out for a corner. The Hawks claimed handball on the deflection but the official waved it off.
            Later, a Hartwick giveaway in the back allowed Kunateh a chance at the top of the ’Wick 18. His shot, however, got a piece of a Hartwick foot and went up over the bar for a corner.
            Mike Rood (Conklin, NY/Susquehanna Valley) had the last opportunity of regulation for the Hawks with 2:10 showing on the clock. A short cross from Fowler was headed on target by Rood from the penalty spot, but right at Cleveland.
            Justin Donawa had a hit go wide for Dartmouth 25 seconds after Rood’s header. Sten Stray-Gundersen also sent one wide with 10 seconds remaining and the game headed to extra time.
            Wyatt Omsberg nearly gave the Big Green the victory in the early going of the overtime. He met a corner, heading toward the side netting of the Hartwick goal, but senior back David Styles (Bpgnor Regis, England/St. Phillip Howard) was on the goal line to keep it out and preserve the 0-0 tie.
            Berry had Hartwick’s only shot of the extra session with six minutes left in the period. He gave the Big Green defenders fits throughout the contest, but his effort was wide of the Dartmouth goal from the right of Cleveland.
            The game appeared to be headed for a second overtime before Emory Orr’s service from the near sideline was gathered by Marsh for the winner.
            The Hawks out-shot the Big Green 6-4 in the opening half. Dartmouth had the advantage in the second half, 12-6, and finished with a margin of 18-13. Wilson would stop two saves in the Hartwick goal with Cleveland making two stops for Dartmouth.

            “Coming into the game we fancied our chances, said Hartwick junior Kit Tregear (Brighton, England/BHHASVIC). “We came here to win and I definitely think we played that way today. We had chances to win but all it takes is one game-changing play and it’s over. We just have to take this and build on it. We’ve played in two straight tournaments so it’s something we can build upon.”
            “Repeating as Sun Belt regular season and tournament champions is no small task and a fantastic accomplishment for these boys,” stated Scott. “What they have achieved the last two years is something everyone associated with Hartwick soccer can be proud of.”

            The Hawks, who were making the program’s 25^th appearance in the tournament, finish their season with an 11-6-3 record. It marks the most victories for the program in 10 years.
 

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