University of Hartford and UMBC each scored a pair of second-half goals to advance to the semifinals of the 2009 America East Men's Soccer Championship on Saturday night. The third-seeded Hawks downed No. 6 Boston University 2-1 in West Hartford while the No. 5 Retrievers knocked off No. 4 Binghamton by the same score in Vestal.
The Retrievers advance to take on No. 1 New Hampshire on Wednesday in Durham at 1 p.m. while the Hawks will face No. 2 Stony Brook on Long Island at 7 p.m.
Hartford (8-7-2) bounced back from a 1-0 halftime deficit as the Boston U's Stephen Knox knocked home a rebound with 15:08 to go up 1-0 before the half. The Hawks' all-rookie selection James Stamopolous tied the game at one apiece on header at the 66:16 mark of the game, his first goal of the season. Cedomir Tomcic, a first-team all-league defender, tallied his first score of the year off a feed from Carlos Villa with under 15 minutes remaining to knock off the defending champion Terriers (9-7-2).
UMBC (13-5-0) and Binghamton (9-9-1) was scoreless at the half, but each exploded for scores within the first two minutes of the second half. UMBC's Mark Lubetkin finished a pass from America East Midfielder of the Year Levi Houapeu just 28 seconds into the period, but Jake Keegan, a second-team all-conference choice, tied it up 1:10 late. Houapeu then added his 15th goal of the season with 19:19 remaining to eliminate the Bearcats, who had advanced to the last six America East title games.
2009 America East Men's Soccer Championship
Saturday, November 7 -- Quarterfinals
Game 1: at No. 3 Hartford 2, No. 6 Boston University 1 BOX SCORE
Game 2: No. 5 UMBC 2, at No. 4 Binghamton 1 BOX SCORE
Wednesday, November 11 -- Semifinals
Game 3: UMBC at No. 1 New Hampshire, 12 p.m.
Game 4: Hartford at No. 2 Stony Brook, 7 p.m.
Saturday/Sunday, November 14/15 -- Final
Game 5: Game 3 Winner vs. Game 4 Winner, TBA