The No. 19 Eagles continued their momentum Friday night in a 3-1 victory over the Hartwick University Hawks at Reeves Field. Sophomore forwards Joe Iraola and Dale Ludwig and senior midfielder Stephen Hauschild notched goals for the Eagles as they successfully employed a high pressing defensive style to create discomfort for Hartwick over the course of the game.
“[It was a] decent performance, we definitely need to clean up in the final third,” Ludwig said. “But as coach [Todd West] said, any division win is a good win.”
AU (4-1, 0-0) started strong from the opening minute when sophomore midfielder Panos Nakhid volleyed a bouncing ball over the crossbar that just missed the net. Despite the Eagles’ initial surge, Hartwick (0-3-2) controlled the pace of the game by holding most of the first half possession, but they failed to threaten the Eagle’s goal due to the high pressure from the AU forwards and compact back line.
The high intensity play finally paid off for the Eagles in the 21st minute when Iraola intercepted a stray back pass in the midfield, sped into the Hartwick box and poked the ball off the far post and into the net from 15 yards away. The goal changed the complexion of the game, as it shifted from a physical struggle in the midfield into a more open game.
The Eagles’ defensive efforts created another scoring chance before halftime as sophomore midfielder Chris Fanet forced Hawks junior defender Jack Miller to miscue his kick out, resulting in an AU corner kick.
AU came out with a fury at the start of the second half, and within the first five minutes Ludwig and Hauschild had both scored goals to put the game away.
Ludwig snuck the ball past Hartwick’s goalkeeper Tom Buckner after an assist from senior defender Christian Robbs in the 48th minute. Robbs executed a diving header off a free kick from Robley, and the ball soared to Ludwig, who bumped the ball across the line to finish the play.
Hauschild’s goal came less than a minute and a half later when Irola played the ball into the path of senior defender Conor Osborne, who ran behind down the left wing and the Hawks defense. Osborne squared the ball across the box for Hauschild, who delivered a tap-in from close range.
“The message at halftime was, ‘Let’s press their backs.’ I thought they struggled a little bit on the ball and we wanted to press them a little bit,” head coach Todd West said. “It doesn’t always work right away but we got two goals in the first five or six minutes.”
Hartwick pulled a goal back in the 53rd minute when junior midfielder David Styles collected a partially cleared corner kick and sent in a cross that Hartwick sophomore defender Kit Tregear met with his head and put past Eagles junior goalkeeper Dylan Hobert. The Hawks continued to pile on the offensive pressure following their goal, but the AU backline held firm.
As Hartwick pushed to get back in the game, the Eagles exposed the Hawks to several quick counter-attacks. Ludwig won the ball in midfield in the 55th minute and sent a diagonal pass to an on-running Iraola, who took the ball in stride only to have his shot saved by Buckner.
While Hartwick held possession for most of the game, they managed only four shots on goal due to the sound Eagle defense led by Robbs and senior defender Jake Weinreb. The Eagles peppered the Hawks with 10 shots on goal from their limited possession.
The Eagles will put their three game winning streak on the line Sept. 21 when they face Wisconsin-Milwaukee at 1 p.m. on Reeves Field.
