Box Score Aug. 31, 2012
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Bronx, N.Y. -
When Hartford and Fordham met for a soccer game in 2011, it was a rarely seen, shortened game due to Hurricane Irene coming through the area. A year later, the 2012 matchup was once in a blue moon, both literally and figuratively as the Hawks defeated the Rams 1-0, in a game played under the second full moon of the month, on August 31, from Jack Coffey Field. Fordham fell to 1-2 on the season.
It was a physical game over the first twenty minutes as both sides exchanged possessions, with neither team having any strong scoring chances early on in the half.
The first Fordham scoring opportunity came in the 22nd minute as Ollie Kelly dispossessed the defender in the corner, and found Kyle Bitterman in the middle of the box. From there, Bitterman juked a defender and blasted the ball on net where Hartford goalie, Viltsu Tuumi deflected the ball to the left. Andre Seidenthal got to it first and took a shot that went wide of the net.
The Hawks' first scoring chance came two minutes later when a quick transition led to a flick on net by David Bernhardsson that was tipped over the crossbar to safety by Sean Brailey, keeping the game deadlocked at nil-nil.
In the 27th minute, Bitterman came down the right side, slipped past the Hartford defender and flicked the ball at goal where it hit the crossbar and deflected out of bounds.
Hartford found the back of the net in the 44th minute. Omar Tall controlled possession for the Hawks and took a run down the right side of the 18-yard box. Once inside, he found Javoni Simi at the top of the box who let go a shot for the upper left corner of the net, past the outstretched arms of Brailey, and the Hawks had a 1-0 lead.
The Rams best scoring opportunity in the second half came in the 64th minute and was eerily similar to the goal they scored against Adelphi. Bitterman came down the left side of the pitch and lifted a through ball into the penalty area where Ryan Walsh, who scored the marker against the Panthers, was able to get a head on it, but the shot was blocked and the Rams were still shutout.
Fordham pressured the Hartford end in the final three minutes, hoping to muster the equalizer, but the Rams failed to score and the Hawks held on for the 1-0 win.
All totaled, the teams committed 22 fouls and a pair of yellow cards were handed out. Hartford outshot the Rams 11-8 and led Fordham in corner kicks 4-2. The Rams fell to 1-2 on the year, while the Hawks picked up their first win of the season.
The team will travel up to Providence, Rhode Island to compete in the Brown Tournament next weekend, September 7 and 9. They face Siena on the 7th and Brown on the 9th.
Fordham returns home on Friday, September 28, when they face Manhattan College in the annual "Battle of the Bronx" game from Jack Coffey Field. They kickoff is set for 7:30 P.M.
