Live Stats | Live Video

Stony Brook, N.Y. - The Stony Brook men’s soccer team (4-6-3, 1-2-1 AE) looks to climb the tightly-grouped America East standings on Saturday, Oct. 24, when they host the Hartford Hawks (4-5-5, 0-2-2 AE) at 7 p.m.

Scouting Hartford

The Hawks are chasing the Seawolves in the standings, but enter Saturday’s match with momentum after tying No. 15 Syracuse, 2-2 on Tuesday. Despite being winless through their first four league-games, the Hawks are 1-1-1 against teams currently in the top 25 of the NSCAA Coaches’ Poll. They defeated Monmouth 3-1 in September and lost to Old Dominion in overtime. Based on Hartford’s trend, expect a close match Saturday night. Eleven of the 13 matches they have played in have been decided by a goal or less, with five ending in ties. Javoni Simms, a three-time America East first team all-conference selection, leads the Hawks with five goals. Jeff Tyron is their next high scorer with three goals and two assists. Mikkel Song paces the team and the conference with six assists.

Getting Defensive

The Seawolves opened the 2015 season with consecutive shutouts vs. Central Connecticut State and Sacred Heart, but have not recorded a clean sheet since then. When Stony Brook allows one goal or less, they are 4-0-3. They are 0-5 when allowing two goals or more.

Gamwanya Leading the Way

One of Stony Brook’s most consistent performers this season has been freshman Serge Gamwanya (Kinshasa, Congo). Gamwanya, the goal scorer in Stony Brook’s 1-1 tie with Vermont, is second on the team in shots with 32 and leads the team in minutes played, starting all 13 matches as a central midfielder. For the season, he has two goals and two assists.

Tight Race

The race for an America East playoff berth is a tight one, as seven of the eight teams are separated by just three points. Every team in the conference has a loss and no team has more than two wins at the halfway point. The top six teams in conference make the playoffs.