When Hartwick visits Syracuse tonight, many people will think of of the Hawks as just another no-name opponent.

But with a 4-2-1 record, Hartwick is not a team to overlook. The Hawks have won four of their last five. Their only loss during that span: 1-0 to No. 5 Indiana.

‘Recently, we’ve just been trying to become consistent at repeating the most basic tactics of the game,’ Hartwick coach Jim Lennox said. ‘I’ve got a lot of good technical players, a lot of skilled guys.’

‘(Hartwick’s) a big-name team in soccer,’ Syracuse coach Dean Foti said. ‘It’s like Johns Hopkins in lacrosse, a Division-III school that has a good Division-I program in another sport.’

The Hawks return nine starters from a squad that went 12-8 last season. Added to the mix are five freshmen, including Ymeric Sanon, who was named a first-team all-star in both his junior and senior seasons in high school. He’s started all four games he’s played and posted a goal and an assist.

The consensus among SU players is that the Orangemen (4-3, 1-1 Big East) must finish off shots against Hartwick goalkeeper Randy Moate, something they did not do against Seton Hall keeper Alex McDonald on Saturday.

After giving up just one goal in the last two games, Moate — who sports a 0.99 goals-against average for the season — was named Goalie of the Week in the Atlantic Soccer Conference last week. He has four shutouts.

‘He has a lot of strong leadership characteristics,’ Lennox said. ‘The defense in the back really respects him. He’s just done very well.’

Senior captain Neil McLean leads the Hawks in scoring with four goals, including one game-winner.

‘They seem to be moving McLean all over the place as they see fit,’ Foti said after watching tape of Hartwick. ‘They move this guy forward when they need a goal. They move him back when they need to stop a goal. (He’s used) for whatever the game demands.’

‘He’s one of the guys who gets important goals for us,’ said Lennox, in his 27th season as the Hawks’ head coach. ‘He’s a two-way player in that he plays on both sides of the ball very well.’

McLean’s name should be familiar to the Orangemen. His goal with 39 minutes left in last year’s contest was the game winner in Hartwick’s 2-1 win. Moate was also integral, compiling 10 saves on 20 shots, including a late save on Syracuse forward Kirk Johnson.

‘Our games (against Syracuse) are very intense, combative games,’ Lennox said. ‘Obviously we ended up winning last year’s game. But that was at Oneonta. Now we’re at SU.’

This year, Syracuse hopes to preserve what will count come playoff time — its Central New York region record.

‘It’s a big inter-region game,’ Johnson said. ‘We saw them play down in (The Virginia Commonwealth Tournament), and they played very well. This is a game we’ve got to win.’

Published on September 24, 2002 at 12:00 pm