University of Massachusets Athletics
University of Massachusetts
Hartford
Minutemen Drop Overtime Heartbreaker To Hartford, 2-1
October 08, 2014 | Men's Soccer
Box Score
UMass at Hartford Box Score
WEST HARTFORD, Conn. - Hartford's Romario Jones beat Massachusetts' Tyler Szymkowicz to a loose ball by a fraction of a second and that proved to be the difference as the Hawks defeated the Minutemen, 2-1 in overtime, at Alumni Stadium Wednesday night.
The initial scoring chance came when a deflected ball caromed into the goal area where Jeff Tryon's shot from five yards was blocked by goalkeeper Ryan Buckingham. But as it rolled to the middle of the box, Jones got his foot to the ball just before the UMass freshman and past a pair of back-line defenders for the game-winner 4:45 into the extra session.
It marked the second-straight visit to Hartford that UMass held a lead at the half before suffering a tough loss.
The outcome spoiled a season-high 21 shots for UMass (1-9). Hartford (5-4-2) took 22 in the contest with 14 in the final 50 minutes of regulation and overtime.
Buckingham stopped two shots on the night, while the group also was credited with a team save.
UMass nearly took an early lead ten minutes into the game when sophomore Luke Pavone was tackled in the box, but senior Josh Schwartz was unable to connect on the penalty kick, seeing his attempt deflected out of play by UH's Scott McKirgan.
The Minutemen broke through at the 34:29 mark when Pavone collected his first goal of the season. Pavone started the play when he stole a corner kick in the far side of the box, dribbled the length of the field before passing through a pair of defenders to a sprinting Schwartz. From there, the senior gave it back to Pavone who beat McKirgan to the far post from 12 yards.
The Hawks tied the game with 33:51 to play in regulation on Jones' first goal of the game. Cohen sent a ball up the sideline from the midfield line to Omar Tall, who drew a centering pass back to the top of the 18 where Jones got a low, hard shot past Buckingham.
UMass had a couple of very solid chances with just under eight minutes to play in regulation. Matt Keys had McKirgan out of position 10 yards from the goal but his hard shot was knocked away. On the ensuing corner kick, Matt Mooney one-timed a loose ball but it screamed about a foot wide. Keys had a spinning shot a couple of minutes later that dove just over the crossbar.
Cohen nearly gave the Hawks the winner just before the horn, but his open shot from seven yards on the hard angle was just wide with 2:15 on the clock.
UMass will return to action this weekend when it plays host to VCU on Saturday. Kickoff at Rudd Field is set for 1 p.m.
