Post Game Interview

NEWARK, NJ—Defending Sun Belt Conference men's soccer champion Hartwick built a 2-0 lead in the first half and then held off NJIT's second-half comeback attempt for a 2-1 victory on a chilly, windy Saturday evening on Lubetkin Field at Mal Simon Stadium.
 
Hartwick (2-0 Sun Belt; 6-4-2 overall) had the better of the play in the opening 45 minutes and it showed on the scoreboard and on the stat sheet, as the visiting Hawks outshot NJIT 7-2 and scored in the 14th minute (an own goal) and the 28th minute. In fact, the visitors might have added another score, except that NJIT goalkeeper Marco Luna saved a penalty kick by Hartwick's Mike Rood in the 29th minute.
 
The thwarted pk came just 48 seconds after Dean Fowler's second goal of the season had given the visitors a 2-0 lead. Jamie O'Grady assisted on the scoring play, sending a pass ahead to Fowler, who came down the left side and beat Luna for the goal.
 
The first goal was an own goal that came on an attempted short back header pass toward Luna from an NJIT defender. The ball came off the defender's head at an odd angle and Luna had no chance to make a stop.
 
The Highlanders had more of the ball in the second half than in the first and they got their goal less than 12 minutes in the second half. Mamadou Guirassy triggered the scoring play with a pass to Samuel Jester who scored on a hard shot from the top of penalty area. It was the first college goal for Jester who was the Delaware high school Player of the Year as a senior in 2014.
 
There were a couple of ticks over 33 minutes remaining when Jester drew the Highlanders one, but they never found the equalizer against the Hawks. In fact, NJIT managed just two more shot attempts the rest of the way.
 
The most suspense came when Rickardo Oldham of the Highlanders, who scored earlier in the year on a direct free kick, was awarded one in the final minute. However, his try from 30 yards sailed high in the windy conditions.
 
The final shots favored Hartwick 10-7 and their goalkeeper Lenny Wilson was credited with one save in the victory. NJIT's Luna finished with four saves.
 
The Highlanders (0-2 Sun Belt; 3-7-4) will be off for a week before returning to action next Saturday in Washington, DC, against Howard in another Sun Belt Conference match. That game is scheduled for a 2 pm start.