Alex Critzos Scores Goal for Hawks; Andrew D’Ottavi Ties Season-High Record with Nine Saves
Oct. 5, 2012
PHILADELPHIA – An overtime goal off the foot of Duquesne\’s Isaiah Noreiga defeated SaintJoseph\’s in the Hawks\’ Atlantic 10 home opener on Friday evening at Finnesey Field. SaintJoseph\’s (4-6-0, 0-1-1 Atlantic 10) attacked with a goal in the first half, but the Dukes answeredwith goals in the second half and overtime to hand the Hawks their sixth loss of the season.
In the 94th minute, Duquesne (4-7-0, 1-0-0 Atlantic 10) gained possession of the ball as a resultof a saint Joseph\’s penalty and fired off a shot that was brilliantly deflected by the diving effortsof Hawks senior goalkeeper Andrew D’Ottavi (Petersburg, N.J./Ocean City). Noreigaregained possession of the ball for the Dukes and headed the game\’s final shot into the net,securing the win for Duquesne.
\”Duquesne got a controversial call in the overtime and Andrew [D\’Ottavi] made a phenomenalsave, but they followed it up,\” said head coach Don D’Ambra. \”Overall, I was really proud ofour effort and I thought that they played a good 90 minutes. In the overtime, we had some reallydangerous attacking chances, but Duquesne converted and we didn\’t.\”
The Hawks got on the board first at the 30:41 mark. Junior midfielder Pat McGlynn (Jamison,Pa./St. Joseph’s Prep) gained possession to put the Hawks on the offensive attack and thendished a pass over to freshman midfielder Tim Lazorko (Philadelphia, Pa./Holy Ghost Prep).Lazorko found sophomore forward Alex Critzos (Annapolis, Md./Archbishop Spalding), whomade a quick move to his left to dribble past Duquesne\’s final defender, before hitting the leftside of the net to give Saint Joseph\’s a 1-0 advantage.
\”Tim [Lazorko] did a great job of finding Alex [Critzos] and making a really good run,\” saidD\’Ambra. \”We were able to get in behind, and Alex was very controlled and did an excellent jobof finishing up that opportunity. To lead 1-0 going into halftime was really good.\”
The Hawks were defensively flawless in the first 47 minutes of play, not allowing a single goalon D\’Ottavi\’s three saves. The defensive line exhibited discipline and a solid ability to defendagainst the Dukes\’ dangerous offensive attacks.
A goal by Duquesne\’s leading scoring, Joshua Patterson, in the 48th minute tied the game at onegoal apiece. Duquesne\’s Simon Gomez assisted Patterson, who managed to bring D\’Ottavitoward the top of the box and consequently was able to chip a shot over the Hawks goalkeeperand into the net.
\”I thought Duquesne tied the game up on a defensive giveaway on our end, so I didn\’t feel likethey broke us down in anyway, I just feel like we made a mistake,\” said D\’Ambra. \”Our guys didwell as far as mentally battling back from that.\”
Saint Joseph\’s and Duquesne were near even in total shots and corner kicks in the first twohalves, but the Dukes fired off 11 shots on goal as opposed to the Hawks\’ four. SJU was also keptshotless in overtime.
\”I like our chances going into St. Bonaventure,\” said D’Ambra. \”Our team has a lot ofconfidence and we\’re creating a lot of chances offensively. They know that it\’s anotheropportunity to win. We just have to put this loss behind us and focus on getting a result againstthe Bonnies.\”
The Hawks will host the Bonnies of St. Bonaventure on Sunday, October 7. Game time isscheduled for 1:00 p.m.
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