Hawks win their Home Opener to Move Above .500

By Cam Brennan

Following a dominant 7-0 win against Chariho, the Hawks were back in action on Wednesday against Tolman. The Hawks were 1-1-0 going into the game, looking to make their home opener a good one. Tolman, on the other hand, was looking to get its first win of the season, only sporting a record of 0-2-1. That record includes their last game, a 5-1 loss to Cumberland.

As the game got underway it was clear that the Hawks would be dominant in this game as well. Starting forward Brennan Bica started the scoring off a rebound in the ninth minute. To make matters worse for Tolman, starting midfielder Corey Chantre intentionally kicked defender Alex Leite in the leg. Chantre was issued a red card, which left Tolman a man down for the rest of the game. Just minutes later the Hawks capitalized on that very penalty when midfielder Brennan Martin scored in the ninteenth minute on a kick from outside the box, making the score 2-0. Following that goal Tolman saw its best opportunity of the match on a free kick just outside the box in the twenty-fifth minute. The ball sailed over the wall of players, the outstreached arm of the keeper Alex Amado, and over the crossover bar. The rest of the half was all Hawks, as they held the ball in Tolman territory for the remaining fifteen minutes.

Bica and the Hawks picked up in the second half where they'd left off in the first by scoring in the fiftieth minute on a misread ball by the Tolman goalie, which was Bica's second goal of the game. As for the Hawks' defense, they stood tall the entire game, only allowing Amado to see three balls come his way. Andrew Leveillee was key in clearing the ball whenever the ball came near him. Reed Worthington and Lucas Gesmundo were very active in creating chances for their teammates the entire game, such as the one that came to the feet of midfielder Luke Martin-Jourdenais in the form of a free kick just outside the box. He scored on the free kick during the seventy-second minute to finish off the Tigers by a final score of 4-0.

The Hawks move to 2-1-0 and are set to take on Central Falls, next Tuesday, September 23, at 6 o'clock at Hayden Stadium. Central Falls will come in with a 3-0-1 record and a notable draw against LaSalle Academy. This game will be broadcast LIVE on The Network, starting around 5:50 pm. The Network is looking forward to its first ever soccer broadcast, as Stone Freeman and myself will have the call.