THE BASICS:

RESULT: Hartford 1, Stony Brook 0  
RECORDS: Hartford (7-2-2, 1-0-1 AE); Stony Brook (3-7-2, 0-2-0 AE)
LOCATION: Al-Marzook Field at Alumni Stadium (West Hartford, Conn.)

THE LEAD: The University of Hartford women's soccer team remains unbeaten in America East action as it defeated Stony Brook, 1-0, on Thursday behind a first-half goal by freshman Hayley Nolan. Coupled with a shutdown performance by the back line, Nolan's marker, which was the first of her career, helped push the Hawks' record to 1-0-1 in conference play and 7-2-2 overall. Junior Jessica Jurg matched a season-high in saves, recording five stops to earn her sixth shutout of the year.

HOW IT HAPPENED:

·         Once Hartford settled in, it didn't take long for the home team to reach the scoreboard. At the 13:15 mark, junior Aaliyah Ingram created some separation from her defender, and sent a pass to Nolan, who was inside of the 18-yard box. Quickly turning her defender, she booted a low ball with her right foot, and beat Stony Brook's keeper Emily Doherty with a shot to the low post.

·         The Hawks' defense kept Stony Brook's attack at bay for the remainder of the first half. Stony Brook was forced to take several shots from deep, but Jurg was ready for the challenge as she snagged shots by Lauren Kovalchuk and Tessa Devereaux in the 26th and 30th minutes, respectively.

·         The Hawks almost doubled their advantage before the halftime break out of a perfectly executed corner kick at the 37:16 mark. From the far side, redshirt-senior Stephanie Santos served in a ball that landed right on the head of junior Caitlin Smallfield. The well-struck header was on frame, but Doherty was on point to make the save.

·         In the second half, Stony Brook gained momentum in an attempt to net the equalizer. Forced into action on a shot by Emily Murer, Jurg made the save on the attempt from the near end line in the 53rd minute to preserve the shutout. Just three minutes later, the Seawolves threatened again, this time on a long strike by Christen Cahill. Hitting the crossbar, the rebound bounced just in front of the goal line, allowing the Hawks to hold on to their one-goal edge.

·         The Seawolves were unable to cash in on a few more scoring opportunities in the second half. On a free kick from 10-yards outside of the box, Cahill's shot was slapped away by a leaping Jurg, before Julie Johnstonbaugh's header on the rebound went just high over the crossbar with 2:16 left.

·         The Hawks' attempts were limited in the second half, as the Seawolves' defense also picked up the pressure. Hartford's best scoring opportunity of the final half came fom senior Kristen McAdams. Her strike to the near post was on target, but saved by Doherty.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS:

·         Overall, the Seawolves held the advantage in shots at 12-8; the Hawks' shots were quality attempts, though, as five of eight were put on the marker

·         Doherty recorded four saves between the posts for Stony Brook

·         Stony Brook recorded five shots on target, with Jurg being on the mark to make saves on each of those attempts

·         Corner kicks also fell in favor of the Seawolves, as they attempted five to the Hawks' two

·         Junior Tori Tripp and rookie Julia Carr paced Hartford's attack with two shots apiece

NEWS & NOTES:

·         Nolan provided the only scoring of the match in the 13th minute with her first career goal.

·         With Thursday's win, Hartford has gone unbeaten against Stony Brook in seven of the last eight games (4-1-3) while improving to 12-2-5 in the all-time series.

·         Posting her sixth shutout in net, Jurg improves her career total to 20.

·         The victory was the 99th of head coach John Natale's career. Furthermore, he is five victories away from becoming the winningest coach in Hartford's Division I era.

·         Hartford has gone unbeaten in eight of its last nine matches, going 6-1-2 during that stretch.

UP NEXT:
A two-game road trip opens up for Hartford on Sunday, Oct. 4 when the squad heads to Vestal, N.Y., to battle the Binghamton Bearcats. The Hawks will be looking to keep a streak of five-straight shutout victories against Binghamton alive when they kickoff from the Bearcats Sports Complex at 1 p.m.