The woman of the University of Hartford soccer team put up a great effort, but unfortunately lost out to Stony Brook in the semifinals of the America East Championships, in a final score of 2-1. However, the loss didn’t come without a fight. The women’s soccer team delivered some incredible plays, an excellent display of defensive and offensive moves, lovely assists and a number of saves. Players Molly Socha, Maia Perez, Sierra Sone, Madison Stabile and Skylar Vitiello were all recognize separately for their performance in the semi-finals. Senior player Molly Socha scored the only goal for Hartford, which wasn’t until almost 90 minutes into the tournament. Maia Perez closed out the game with five saves, and was forced into an early defense, which she made two saves within under five minutes in the beginning of the match, adding more saves to her already outstanding record.

The first half of the match turned into a battlefield, but it was Stony Brook that would take the lead in just the first 30th minutes. The Hawks only fierce chance came when Molly Socha scored a goal, putting The Hawks on the board. The women did not just make the semifinals, but they put up a great effort despite the team not clinching a spot in the finals. In addition to that, players Maia Perez, Sierra Stone, and Skylar Vitiello were named to the All-Tournament team for the 2019-2020 season.

The Hawks have finished their 2019 season with a 10-7-2 overall record, while America East Finalist Stony Brook improved on the season to a 14-5-1 with the win over Hartford. The team has expressed great sadness about being eliminated, but praise how far they’ve come since the season started back in September of this year. In their last game of the season, the match brought in Socha’s first goal of the season. It also was a tournament that saw The Hawks out shoot the Seawolves, with them holding an advantage over them in corner kicks and saw player Perez, finished with the most saves of the season.

IMAGE COURTESY OF HARTFORD SPORTS INFORMATION