November 6, 2005

ONEONTA, NY - Hartwick, ranked 11th in the nation, scored an early goal and a late goal to defeat New Jersey Institute of Technology, 2-0, in the final men's soccer game of the season for the Highlanders.

Hartwick, 11-5-1 overall, captured the Atlantic Soccer Conference regular season crown with a 5-1 record in conference play. The Hawks will host next weekend's ASC postseason tournament, with the winner earning an automatic berth in the 2005 NCAA Division I College Cup field.

Hartwick's leading scorer, freshman JP Boyle, scored the only goal of the first half, assisted by Chris Jackson at 11:08. Boyle's 12-yarder from the left side beat NJIT goalkeeper Collin Cunning to the far post.

The match stayed at 1-0 into the 77th minute, when Chris Greatwich scored on a header off a feed from Barry Pearson, giving Hartwick an insurance goal.

Hartwick goalkeeper Joseph Gibson made five saves in recording the shutout. For NJIT, Cunning and Ryan Sutherland shared duties in goal, with each man stopping three shots.

NJIT closes out its first season as a full member of NCAA Division I with a 1-11-5 overall record, including 0-4-2 in the ASC.

The Highlanders were tantalizingly close to a much better record, sustaining six losses by one goal, including two in overtime, along with the five ties.

The Highlanders made tremendous strides in their overall results over 2004, their first season facing a Division I schedule.

On defense, they cut their goals against by more than half, from 62 in 15 games in 2004 to 30 in 17 games in 2005.

The defensive improvement was reflected in the number of close 2005 matches. This season, only third-ranked Maryland, which beat NJIT, 4-0, scored more than three goals against the Highlanders. Indeed, the 2005 Highlanders held 11 of the 17 opponents to zero, one or two goals. In 2004, eight opponents scored at least four times against NJIT.

Perhaps most encouraging is the fact that the Highlanders defense included two sophomore goalkeepers and three of the four regular starting backs were freshmen Scott Rietze, Dylan Broadley and Rafael Barrera. The fourth regular back, grad student Pablo Ponce, was both a talented player who never came off the field and a steadying influence with his experience and composure. Replacing him will be a key to the team's continued improvement in 2006.

The Highlanders also improved their offensive output, netting 14 goals in 2005, up from nine in 2004. Still, NJIT will look for greater improvement in that area, as the Highlanders did not score more than twice in any game.

Of the 14 Highlander goals in 2005, 12 were scored by freshmen and sophomores.

Sophomore Eddie Romero, who received special attention from opposing defenses, led NJIT with 5 goals and 2 assists, for 12 points. Despite the attention, he used his exceptional speed to create scoring opportunities throughout the year.

Freshman Greg Spaulding, who was injured for most of the year and whose absence was felt when he was unable to play down the stretch, was NJIT's second-leading scorer. He scored the first goal of the season, staking the Highlanders to a 1-0 lead that held up into the 80th minute in the opener at defending America East Conference champion Boston University.

Although NJIT eventually lost, 3-2, in double overtime at BU, that game, on September 1, served immediate notice that the Highlanders would challenge every team on their 2005 schedule.