Second Half Sends Men’s Soccer Past Hartford, 2-0

EAST BOSTON – Suffolk men's soccer broke open the scoring in the second stanza and never looked back to hand Hartford a 2-0 Conference of New England (CNE) setback Saturday afternoon at James A. Sartori Stadium at East Boston Memorial Park. 

THE BASICS
SCORE: Suffolk 2 | Hartford 0
RECORDS: Suffolk (5-3-3, 2-0-1 CNE) | Hartford (7-2-1, 1-2-0 CNE)  

HOW IT HAPPENED
Persistence paid off for the blue-and-gold as its eighth on target connected to break the scoreless game open in the 68th minutes. Dominic Rinaldi had a perfect cross from the right sideline to Diego Pierantozzi, who easily put the rock away to give Suffolk the 1-0 edge.  

The Hawks keeper Ryan Lunn was perfect until that point and the Rams handful of headers off throw ins and corners hit every post to keep zeros on the board before Pierantozzi put his hero cape on.  

Hartford attempted to tie things up in the final few minutes. Multiple corners tested Nathan Harlow and the blue-and-gold's backline. Matthew Belluardo sent a clear ahead where Pierantozzi raced ahead to meet it. He collected the ball, dribbled it down the field and slipped it over to Francisco Valck, who put it away to double the distance with 3:09 left in regulation, which stayed true at the final buzzer.

KEEPING UP WITH THE KEEPERS

• Harlow had two saves in the win. 
• Ryan Lunn logged seven stops in the setback.  

STATISTICALLY SPEAKING

• Pierantozzi finished with one goal and one assist. 
• Valck registered one goal. 
• Belluardo and Rinaldi both dished out one helper. 
• Suffolk outshot Hartford, 27-9, including a 9-2 edge in shots on target. 
• The Rams held the upperhand in corner kicks, 5-3.  

NOTEWORTHY

• Suffolk hosts Hartford for the first time in program history. 
• The Rams are unbeaten, 2-0-0, all-time against Hartford. 
• Suffolk shutout the Hawks for the first time in program history. 
• Suffolk has scored two goals in both games against Hartford. 
• Harlow had his third shutout of the season, fifth of his collegiate career. 
• Pierantozzi registered his second goal of the season, both of which are game winners. He had one goal and one assist in the same game for the first time this season. 
• Rinaldi record his second assist of the season and of his collegiate career. 
• Belluardo notched his second assist of the year. 
• Valck tallied his fifth goal of the campaign.  

WHAT'S NEXT?
The Rams take a break from their CNE calendar Tuesday, Oct. 8 when they tangle at Babson at 3:30 p.m.