For a school nestled in the middle of New York, tucked away in Oneonta, Hartwick’s men’s soccer roster is filled with a lot of players that don’t call the Empire State home.

In fact, only two do.

Then again, Hartwick features nine players that aren’t even from the United States.

Life on the Hartwick men’s soccer team is an international experience.

‘We’ve had a couple of atypical recruiting classes,’ Hartwick head coach Ian McIntyre said. ‘I got the job late. And then what happened to our program last year, we do have players from all over.’

The phenomenon that happened to Hartwick last season was a 15-2-1 record, tying the school record for wins in a season. It was the first year for McIntyre as head coach at Hartwick, and he made his presence felt in what some predicted would be a rebuilding year with a large recruiting class.

Hartwick ranked as high as No. 9 last year in the NSCAA national polls, but was strangely excluded from the NCAA Division I postseason tournament.

With its 1-0 win over Syracuse on Wednesday night, Hartwick (7-2-3) is on its way to another historic season. A big reason why is the international players the Hawks boast.

Men’s soccer is one of only two D-I sports at Hartwick (the other is water polo), yet its plethora of D-III sports doesn’t discredit players from attending Hartwick, especially from outside the United States.

Six sophomores started Wednesday night’s game, and of those six, four were from outside the United States. Six of its 11 starters are international.

McIntyre uses his birthplace to recruit players. A native of Basildon, England, McIntyre recruited three players from England and Scotland for this year’s recruiting class. Two sophomores also hail from Scotland.

McIntyre was an All-American as a senior at Hartwick in 1995, and after coaching the past three years at Oneonta State, he returned in 2003 to take over the program at Hartwick.

In Wednesday night’s game, the international players made a big impact.

Goalkeeper Josh Wagenaar, from Grimsby, Ontario, recorded his fifth shutout of the season.

Omar Gordon, a senior from Kingston, Jamaica, scored the game’s only goal, his third of the season.

‘Omar put in a good challenge,’ McIntyre said. ‘It kind of squirted out to him. He hit it pretty well. The goalkeeper really didn’t have any chance at it. It was a good strike.’

Sophomore defender Adam Mitchinson, from Borehamwood, England, also helped the shutout effort. Mitchinson, at 6 feet 5 inches, was a towering presence over the Orange.

Mitchinson was also the most vocal aspect of the Hawks defense, calling out assignments and barking at the officiating.

‘He’s had a great season,’ McIntyre said of Mitchinson. ‘He’s a big, physical presence back there. But he’s also got a good personality and he provides a lot of leadership.’

While Hartwick can boast of its international flavor, it can also take pride in its diversity of U.S.-born players.

In addition to the two New York players, the Hawks have players from Texas, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, California and Massachusetts.

Published on October 13, 2004 at 12:00 pm