Hartwick College is a small institution of higher learning nestled in bucolic Oneonta, N.Y. With an enrollment of only 1400 students, Hartwick's diminutive size keeps it off the radar screens of most Princeton students.
In the world of men's soccer, however, Hartwick is a giant.
The Hawks, ranked No. 20 in the nation, paid a visit to Princeton Stadium on Saturday and performed at a level to be expected of a nationally ranked team. Although Princeton (2-2-1) dominated play throughout, Hartwick (7-1) capitalized on what opportunities it could find to earn the 3-0 win.
"It was really frustrating," sophomore forward Darren Spicer said. "When you dominate a game like we did and the scoreboard doesn't reflect it, it's very frustrating. You want to see results."
Princeton was fired up from the opening whistle, moving the ball downfield with precision passing and controlling time of possession. Though the game was played through intermittent bouts of rain, the Tigers' footing did not seem affected and they were able to run onto balls with ease.
After gaining possession of the ball at midfield, the Tigers deftly weaved passes between Hartwick defenders to teammates waiting near the endline. Princeton was able to get off many crosses, but the ensuing shots sailed wide or high.
After repelling several Princeton chances, Hartwick's Percy Avetrani took a pass about 30 yards out from the Princeton goal at 15 minutes, 48 seconds in the first half. Juggling the ball for a second, Avetrani teed it up and rocketed it into the upper left-hand corner of the goal, past Princeton's diving goaltender, junior Erik White. The early goal would prove the only one necessary in the shutout.
Avetrani's lone effort was emblematic of the Hawks' style all day. While Princeton worked the field with passes, Hartwick preferred to isolate its top players against Princeton defenders. This strategy paid off at 41:48 when Hartwick's Eldin Sijercic walked the ball into the right side of the box alone against senior defender Jeff Hare. Sijercic made a move to get around Hare, creating contact with Princeton's captain, falling and drawing a penalty kick. Greg Victor pushed the ensuing penalty kick low along the ground into the left corner of the goal, putting the Hawks up, 2-0, at the half.
Head coach Jim Barlow '91 sounded a familiar theme for the Tigers at halftime, urging them to take advantage of their existing chances.
"He just told us to capitalize on our opportunities more, which is something we haven't been doing this year," Spicer said. "We're getting a lot of opportunities but we're not putting them in, and that's not the way to win games."
The Tigers came out of the locker room hungry, and the second half had a much more urgent feel to it.
The second half was also more physical, as a total of 18 fouls were called in the period. Overall, Hartwick was whistled 21 times for fouls while Princeton was penalized 15 times.
The chippy play generated more opportunities for the Tigers, who outshot Hartwick, 18-8, on the day. Spicer carried the ball deep into Hawk territory many times, but the resulting crosses and shots were all turned away by Hart-wick's freshman goaltender, Josh Wagenaar.
Princeton's best chance of the game came with 8:05 remaining. A Tiger midfielder threaded a pass through two Hartwick defenders, and freshman forward Kyle McHugh burst through the line to the ball. With only the goalie to contend with, McHugh tapped it toward net and Wagenaar scooped it safely up, recording one of his seven saves of the game.
"I think after they scored the first goal we sort of lost confidence, which is something we need to stop doing," Spicer said. "Then after they scored the second goal we started pressing to get one in the net, which generated a lot of chances but not a goal."
Hartwick had already secured the victory by the point of McHugh's breakaway, however, with Victor's second goal of the contest. The Hawks kept control of the ball in front of Princeton's goal, getting off a shot as the Tigers fought to clear it. After White saved one of Hartwick's efforts, Victor pounced on the rebound and smacked it into the back of the net to put the Hawks up by the final score of 3-0.
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