Men's Soccer Projected for Fourth-Place Finish in America East

Complete America East Release

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. – The University of Hartford men's soccer team was picked to finish fourth in the America East Conference in a poll of the league's eight head coaches. The Hawks, who return 16 players and eight starters from last year's squad, open the 2013 campaign on Friday, August 30 at home against Holy Cross at 7 p.m.

Receiving all possible first-place votes while returning preseason All-American forward Pete Caringi, reigning league champion UMBC was chosen to finish tops in the conference with 49 points. Stony Brook, which earned the remaining first-place tally, earned 40 points in the preseason poll and is projected to finish second in the league.

Also finishing ahead of the Hawks in the poll was Vermont, which tallied 36 points. With 26 points, Hartford came in fourth place, edging out New Hampshire by just a single point. Rounding out the eight-team poll was Albany (21), Binghamton (20) and UMass Lowell (7) which will be making its America East and Division I debut this season.

Following a seven-game conference slate that includes four home contests against UMBC (Oct. 5), Vermont (Oct. 12), Binghamton (Oct. 19) and UMass Lowell (Nov. 6), the top six teams in the league standings will advance to the America East Championships, which kicks off with the quarterfinal round on November 9. Following the semifinal round on November 13, the conference champion will be crowned on either November 16 or 17, with the winner receiving an automatic bid to the NCAA Men's Soccer Championship.  

Last season, the Hawks finished with a 7-9-1 overall record, posting a seventh-place finish in the league standings. Highlighting the list of returners from that squad are four players who were recently named to 2013 America East Preseason All-Conference Teams by College Sports Madness: Damion Lowe, Anthony Santaga, Javoni Simms and Connor Yeaney.

Lowe and Yeaney have anchored Hartford's back line for the past two seasons while Santaga and Simms, a pair of forwards, scored 16 of the Hawks' 22 goals in 2012, combining for all seven of the team's game-winning tallies. Simms was the team's top scorer last year, netting nine goals, while Santaga totaled 17 points, second most on the team, on seven goals and a team-best three assists. Also making his return is David Bernhardsson, a 2011 first-team all-leaguer who missed most of last year with an injury.