BOX SCORE
Stony Brook, NY – The University of Hartford men's soccer team played to a 0-0, double overtime stalemate in the semifinals of the America East Championship on Wednesday night at LaValle Stadium, however the Stony Brook Seawolves will advance to the conference championship by a 3-2 margin in penalty kicks.
Hartford, who entered the tournament as the No. 3 seed in the America East, ends its season at 8-7-3 overall. Second-seeded Stony Brook (5-9-4 overall) will host No. 4 UMBC in the conference championship on Sunday.
After 110 minutes of scoreless soccer, the Hawks and Seawolves finished on their first two attempts as senior Carlos Villa and Bojan Delibasic connected for Hartford. Hartford keeper Nenad Cudic stopped sophomore's Serigne Sylla's attempt however Stony Brook's Anthony Rogic matched Cudic's save to keep the shootout knotted at two.
In the fourth round, Oscar Leis connected on his attempt to give the Seawolves the edge. Hartford was unable to tie the score however as junior Sam Grove's round four shot hit the post. Stony Brook hit its final penalty kick and Hartford's last attempt by Vernon Perinchief was saved by Rogic, ending the mach at 3-2.
“We deserved to win in regulation,” commented Head Coach Dan Gaspar. “I am proud of my players and wished that they were rewarded for their outstanding play. That's soccer.”
Hartford saw seven first half scoring attempts while Stony Brook saw a pair of chances to put the first notch on the scoreboard. The Seawolves managed just one first half shot on goal, but Leonardo Fernandes' shot in the eighth minute was turned away by Hartford keeper Nenad Cudic.
The Hawks' best scoring attempt in the first 45 minutes came at 34:42 when midfielder Ivan Guarin's shot from 20 yards out on the left side was rejected by the crossbar. Classmate Howard Wong tracked down the rebound, but sent the second attempt over the goal, sending the match into the halftime break at knotted at zero.
Hartford outshot its opponents 14-11 and took the only two shots of the extra periods. Cedomir Tomcic saw the best scoring opportunity in overtime. The senior defender launched a header from the inside of the box with five minutes remaining in the final extra period, but Rogic preserved the tie with a clean save.
In goal, Cudic made seven saves while Rogic recorded six stops.
“We will miss our eight seniors,” continued Gaspar. “They are terrific student-athletes who helped build a tradition of excellence.”
The Hawks lose eight players – Andreas Blamo, Nenad Cudic, Ivan Guarin, Kevin Hall, Vernon Perinchief, Cedomir Tomcic, Carlos Villa and Howard Wong – to graduation. The 13 points recorded during conference play by Hartford in 2009 is the most since 2003 when it went 4-3-1 in league play.
