’Wick Falls to #24 Ohio State
 

            CONWAY, SC – Despite outshooting nationally 24^th ranked Ohio State, the Hartwick College men’s soccer team was defeated by the Buckeyes by a 3-0 margin at the Coastal Carolina University Tournament in Conway, SC on Friday evening. The Hawks held a 9-7 edge in shots in the match, but OSU scored on all three of its shots on target which was the difference in the game. The Buckeyes improve to 4-1-1 overall with the victory. ’Wick drops to 1-2-2 with the loss.
            Hartwick head coach John Scott had reason to be positive after the match, despite the final score line.
            “Today was probably the best we’ve moved the ball since I’ve been here,” said Scott. “We gave up some early goals, but we played right with them the rest of the way and actually had the better of play.”
            The Buckeyes scored twice inside eight minutes to quickly gain a 2-0 edge in the match. Austin McAnena scored 5:57 in and Chris Hegngi scored the first of his two goals on the day just 1:40 later.
            The first goal came from a pass from the left side from Kenny Cunningham about 25 yards out. His service went to the top of the 18 where McAnena gathered the ball and shot it to the left side of the net past Hartwick keeper Tom Buckner (Oxford, England/Henley College).
            One hundred seconds later, Hegngi doubled the lead as he dribbled from the right side and drove a shot into the net on the near-post side.

            “We weren’t good enough in the beginning of the match,” added Scott. “We didn’t close their players down and paid the price.”
            Hartwick settled down and generated a few chances, outshooting the Buckeyes 2-1 over the next nine minutes. Junior Greg Mathers (Macclesfield, England/Binghamton U.) and Tim Crawford (Webster, NY/Webster Thomas) each fired shots for ’Wick, but both were handled by OSU goalkeeper Matt Lampson.
            The Hawks would hold the Buckeyes without a shot over the final 33 minutes of the first half. Both teams finished with four shots.
            Hartwick had its best chance of the half generated by its left-side players. Left back Jherrett Maroney (Cincinnatus, NY/Stony Brook Univ.) and left midfielder Tyler Bailey (Spencer, NY/Binghamton Univ.) moved the ball down the sideline and the ball made its way into the box. Mathers collected the ball in the OSU six-yard box but couldn’t get a solid shot off, generating a corner.
            “Maroney and Bailey caused their defense fits throughout the match,” said Scott. “We were unfortunate not to get a goal to make it 2-1. The outcome of the match could have been different if we had.”
            The Hawks had the ball in Ohio State’s end 15 minutes into the second half, generating some shots in the process. But, on the next trip down the field for the Buckeyes, they made it 3-0. Hegngi followed up his own rebound for the goal, finishing from just five yards out in the 67^th minute.
            The Hawks were down by three goals, but they fought until the final whistle. ’Wick took three shots and held the Buckeyes without a shot over the final 22 minutes of the game. Mathers had the best chance for the Hawks with 17 minutes remaining as he slipped past a few Buckeye defenders deep in the OSU end. He broke in toward goal but had a difficult angle to shoot at and put his effort wide of the near post.
            “I’m proud of the guys for not giving in three goals down,” said Scott. “We continued to move the ball well and played hard until the end.”
            The Hawks will be back in action at Coastal Carolina on Sunday. The Hawks will play Appalachian State at noon.

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