THE BASICS:

RESULT: Hartford 1, UMBC 1 (2ot)
RECORDS: Hartford (4-3-3, 0-1-1 AE), UMBC (6-2-2, 0-0-1 AE)
LOCATION: Al-Marzook Field at Alumni Stadium (West Hartford, Conn.)

THE LEAD: In a highly anticipated rematch 2013 and 2014 America East Tournament title contests, the University of Hartford grinded out a 1-1 draw against UMBC on Saturday evening. The Hawks faced a 1-0 deficit thanks to a penalty kick that was converted by Retrievers' leading scorer, Darius Madison, in the 49th minute. Despite the blow, Hartford rallied back to knot up the score, as a free kick from 20 yards out set up Andre Morrison for his first goal of the season in the 62nd minute. Hartford carried the momentum into overtime, but was unable to cash-in on some late opportunities. With the tie, the Hawks improve their unbeaten streak at home to 16 games, as they are 13-0-3 since suffering a loss to the Retrievers back on Oct. 5, 2013

HOW IT HAPPENED:

·         Hartford's defense was on point in the first 20 minutes of action, as it prevented UMBC from setting up any offense. The Hawks held a 6-2 advantage in shots during the opening period, which featured a lot of play taking place in the neutral zone.

·         Madison produced the first scoring opportunity of the evening at 23:02. Finding himself wide open inside of the 18-yard box with Hartford keeper David MacKinnon being the only line of defense for the Hawks, the Retrievers' leading scorer saw his low strike go wide of the far post.

·         Not long after, Hartford produced its first quality shot of the match. At the 27:48 mark, junior Jeff Tryon connected on a high ball served inside of the box, but his header missed wide. Before the end of the half, the Hawks had back-to-back looks at breaking open the game. At the 40:50 mark, junior Udi Cohen fired from point-blank, but UMBC keeper Billy Heavner turned the shot aside after diving to his right and just getting his fingertips on the ball. The rebound, which landed in front of junior Brian Richards, was blocked over the goal line by the Retrievers' back line.

·         Madison went on to open up the scoring on the night in the 49th minute, after a whistle inside of the box on Hartford translated into a UMBC penalty kick. The senior sent his shot to the right side of the net, and reached the back as MacKinnon dove to his left.

·         The penalty kick did not deflate the Hawks, though, as they came back to tie up the game in the 62nd minute. On a set piece out of a UMBC foul, redshirt-senior Rohan Roye took the honors on the free kick and dished out a lateral pass to Morrison, who was set up just outside of the box. The sophomore blasted a shot in stride, hitting the upper-90 for his first goal of the season.  

·         After a scoreless first overtime period, Hartford went out to outshoot the Retrievers, 3-0, in the final stanza. The Hawks came inches away from ending the match with less than nine minutes left in the match. On a long free kick, freshman Mikkel Song sent a long blast that bounced inside of the box, hit the bottom of the crossbar, and dropped just in front of the goal line. A minute later, Javoni Simms forced Heavner into action one final time, but the UMBC keeper came up with his third save and preserved the tie.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS:

·         Hartford held a 10-5 shot advantage over UMBC in regulation, and combined to outshoot the Retrievers, 3-0, throughout the overtime periods.

·         The Hawks also held the edge in corner kicks, finishing with four to UMBC's two.

·         Between the posts, MacKinnon did not record a save. His counterpart, Heavner, had three saves, one of which came in the final overtime period to maintain the draw.

·         Saturday's match was a physical one as both teams combined for 37 fouls.

NEWS & NOTES:

·         Coming out of their conference opener with a draw, the Hawks extended their unbeaten streak at home to 16 games. Since falling to UMBC on Oct, 5, 2013, Hartford has posted a 13-0-3 record at Al-Marzook Field at Alumni Stadium.

·         Hartford also improved upon an impressive mark in overtime with Saturday's tie against UMBC. Since the start of the 2013 season, the Hawks have dropped just one extra-time match in 20 attempts, going 10-1-9 during that span.

·         Prior to tonight's match, the Hawks had dropped five-straight decisions to UMBC, two of which came in the America East Championship's title games in 2013 and 2014.

·         In a preseason poll of the league's head coaches, both Hartford and UMBC were picked as co-favorites to win the America East.

·         In their last four matches, the Hawks are unbeaten, posting a 3-0-1 record during that stretch.