Men’s Soccer Stretches Streak to Five, Downs Hartford, 2-1

WEST HARTFORD, Conn. – A pair of goals in a four-minute span late in the first frame proved to be the difference, as Suffolk men's soccer defeated Hartford, 2-1, Saturday afternoon at Al-Marzook Field at Alumni Stadium. The win extended the Rams win streak to five, its longest since 2006.  

THE BASICS
SCORE: Suffolk 2 | Hartford 1
RECORDS: Suffolk (7-2-1) | Hartford (0-3-1)  

HOW IT HAPPENED
Suffolk's first strike of the day came off the boot of Damon Smargon with help from Tommy Handelsman in the 34th minute. Miguel Varela doubled the distance 3:19 later thanks to a set-up from Francisco Valck. 

That two-goal margin stood at the intermission and held until the 52nd minute when Hartford's Daniele Simeone capped off a pressure-packed possession with a goa. He started the shot attack on Suffolk's keeper Nathan Harlow, but the freshman goalie denied the attempt. The ball rebounded to Nichoals Castrovnici, who had his shot turned aside as well. That save fell to the feet of Simone who found the back of the net.  

That would be the only second-half goal as Harlow denied the Hawks the rest of the way to keep the victory in Suffolk's favor. 

KEEPING UP WITH THE KEEPERS

• Harlow logged two saves in the win. 
• Ryan Lunn notched a pair of stops in the setback.  

STATISTICALLY SPEAKING

• Damon and Varela recorded Suffolk's goals with one apiece. 
• Handelsman and Francisco dished out one assist each. 
• Suffolk outshot Hartford, 11-10. 
• The Rams put four shots on target compared to the Hawks three. 
• Hartford took both corners in the contest.  

NOTEWORTHY

• Suffolk pushed its win streak to five straight, the most wins in a row since rattling off five victories together Sept. 20-Oct. 4, 2006. 
• The Rams tangled with Hartford for the first time in program history. 
• Smargon supplied his second goal of the season. 
• Handelsman has handed out an assist in the last two goals to bring his season total to four helpers. 
• Varela netted his first goal of the season, eighth of his collegiate career. 
• Valck has registered points in back-to-back games. In that span he has four points on one goal and two assists. 
• Harlow improved to 5-1-0 on the year in net.  

WHAT'S NEXT?
Suffolk wraps up its three-game road trip at Boston College Monday, Oct. 2 at 5:30 p.m.