UTICA, NY - The Utica College men's soccer team closed out its regular season with a 1-0 win over the Hartwick Hawks on Friday night. 
 
The lone score of the game came in the 16th minute when Gian Rodriguez (Buenos Aires, Argentina/Northwood) found Sory Konate (Harlem, NY/Forsyth Satellite Academy) cutting in towards the net for what was his team leading fifth goal of the season. 
 
Utica had two other goals called back for offsides, one in the first period and the other a bit later in the second period. Kamer Lenio (Brighton, NY/Brighton) and Byamungu Mugushu (Syracuse, NY/Bishop Grimes) nearly doubled UC's lead in the 74th and 75th minutes however, Hawks goalkeeper Jodi Johnson made a nice save to deny Lenio while Mugushu's shot just missed wide. 
 
Overall, the Pioneers didn't allow the Hawks to have many scoring opportunities as Hartwick totaled five shots in the game, including just two on goal. The Utica defense played tight all game, especially near the box to deny Hartwick any easy looks at the net. 
 
Konate led Utica with five of the team's 11 shots while Mugushu tallied two scoring tries. In goal, Foti Xidias (Carteret, NJ/Carteret) didn't see much action thanks to the help of the defense in front of him. The sophomore finished the game with a pair of saves as well as his fifth shutout of the year. 
 
UC (9-6-1, 6-2 Empire 8) will now prepare for its Empire 8 Tournament semifinal match against Houghton College on Wednesday, November 3. Time and location of the game are still TBD.