With a 3-1 victory over Cardinal Stritch on Tuesday night the Hawks claim the schools first ever Men's Soccer CCAC Conference title
Milwaukee, WI - After the weekends dramatic 2-1 victory over reigning champions Judson University, the Hawks came into Tuesday nights game against Cardinal Stritch knowing that a win would see the team claim the schools first ever Men's Soccer Conference championship.
The victory was exactly what the team would achieve in a match that turned out to be a tough nerve jangling encounter against the only other team who still had a chance at winning the conference this year, Cardinal Stritch.
Both teams began the game rather nervously in a first half which saw few chances of note for either team. The score remained 0-0 going into the second period of play which is when the real story of the game began.
Cardinal Stritch opened the scoring in the 49th minute when striker Ben Allen latched onto a loose ball in the box before thumping a right footed volley past the stranded Michael Tilatti in the Hawks goal.
The goal appeared to snap the Chicago team into life with the team immediately going in pursuit of an equalising goal.
This task became slightly easier for the Hawks when with pressure mounting on Cardinal Stritch a series of fouls eventually lead to a red card; with David Doggett being ordered off for committing a second bookable offence.
The man advantage soon paid off for the Hawks with the team getting back on level terms in the 66th minute after a fantastic Rob Richie-Smith set piece was headed into the back of the net by sophomore midfielder Luke Blakely.
The Hawks grabbed the lead shortly after when in the 71st minute Rob Ritchie-Smith flashed a cross into the box where Diego Dias was on hand to crash the ball home.
Cardinal Stritch pushed forward looking for a second goal but the numerical advantage soon paid off again for the Hawks when with just a minute remaining in the game Thiago Jardim scored the Hawks third to make the final score 3-1.
The final whistle sent the Hawks players into wild celebrations as the victory ensured that the Hawks will be crowned conference champions no matter what happens in the teams final game of the year.
The Hawks last game of the season comes this Saturday, when the team will travel to face Calumet in a match the team will be determined to win to complete their first ever perfect season.
The Hawks now sit with a 12-3-0 overall record and an 8-0-0 conference record.