Dartmouth Set to Host Hartwick in NCAA First Round

NCAA FIRST ROUND
Dartmouth Big Green (11-5-1) vs.
Hartwick Hawks (11-5-3)
Date: Thursday, Nov. 19 – 5 p.m.
Location: Hanover, N.H. – Burnham Field
Live Stats
ILDN (Free Stream)

THURSDAY'S GAME
After winning the Ivy League title following a 2-0 defeat of Cornell last weekend, the Dartmouth men's soccer team claimed the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA Championship for the second year in a row. Also for the second year in a row, the Big Green will host the First Round, taking on Hartwick at 5 p.m. on Thursday.

LAST TIME OUT
The Big Green fell to Brown, 1-0, in a physical contest to end the regular season last Saturday. In what was an aggressive first half, where the teams combined for 14 fouls, neither Brown nor Dartmouth could get anything going offensively. The Big Green had to contend with a stingy Brown defense that had not allowed a goal in the first half all season. Despite the Bears strong defensive front, Dartmouth outshot Brown, 9-1, in the first half and registered five shots on goal compared to the Bears' one. With 23 minutes left in the game, Dartmouth goaltender Stefan Cleveland made contact with a Brown player toward the top of the box resulting in a penalty kick for the Bear's Tariq Akeel. On the ensuing PK, Akeel fired a shot to the left of Cleveland as the Big Green netminder went to his right and Akeel netted his fourth goal of the season. For Cleveland, the goal breaks his shutout streak of four games. The loss also snapped Dartmouth's three game winning streak.

SCOUTING THE HAWKS
Hartwick earned a spot in the NCAA Tournament after winning the Sun Belt Conference for the second year in a row last weekend. The Hawks blanked Appalachian State, 1-0, on Friday and Georgia State, 3-0 in Sunday's championship to secure the league's automatic berth. Hartwick will be making its 25th NCAA appearance and its second consecutive showing. Jamie O'Grady, who has 11 goals and three assists for 25 points, leads the Hawks.

LAST TIME AGAINST HARTWICK
The Hawks and the Big Green have met six times and both teams have won three games apiece. The last time they met was on Sept. 26, 2009 on Hartwick's home turf and Dartmouth returned home with a 2-0 loss. The Hawks took a 1-0 lead just before halftime when Nick Roydhouse converted off a rebound after a corner kick was deflected by the Dartmouth defense in the 40th minute. Hartwick added to its lead in the 83rd minute when Dan Summers headed one past netminder Sean Donovan.

THIS TIME LAST YEAR
After winning a share of the Ivy title with Princeton last season, the Big Green received the league's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament, drawing Fordham in the First-Round contest. On Nov. 20, 2014, on a chilly night at Burnham Field, Alex Adelabu broke a one-all tie with 4:18 remaining in regulation to propel Dartmouth into the Second Round with a 2-1 victory over the Rams. Adelabu's game-winner came after passes from Matt Danilack and Colin Heffron that found the striker posting up for his team-leading 10th goal of the season. The Green had their postseason cut short three days later with a 3-0 loss to Providence on the road.

LEADING THE WAY
A pair of rookies is currently leading the team in goals, as Eduvie Ikoba and Amadu Kunateh have both netted four goals. Ikoba has tacked on three assists for 11 points – and is the only Big Green player to have double-digit points – while Kunateh has added one helper and is sitting two points behind with nine.

BETWEEN THE PIPES
Cleveland has been having a great senior campaign. In 1108 minutes of action, he has made 52 saves while allowing just seven goals, has a .881 save percentage and 0.57 goals against average. With his 8-3-1 mark, he has recorded eight shutouts throughout the season and had registered four straight until the loss at Brown. James Hickok has a record of 3-2-0, has made 15 saves, and a .789 save percentage and 0.78 goals against average. He last appeared in net against Northeastern, earning his second shutout of the season in Dartmouth's 2-0 win.

FOLLOW ALONG
Both live video and live stats are available for this Thursday's game. Live stats will be available through dartmouthsports.com, while the Ivy League Digital Network will have a free HD broadcast. Fans can also follow along with the team's official Twitter account: @DartmouthMSOC.

LOOKING AHEAD
The winner of Thursday's game will advance to the Second Round against No. 6 Syracuse on Sunday, Nov. 22.

Schedules