The fourth-seeded Hofstra University men’s soccer team upset top-seeded Elon University 2-0, in the Coastal Athletic Association (CAA) Championship semifinals on Sunday, Nov. 10. With the win, the Pride will advance to their fifth consecutive CAA Championship Game.
Midfielder Laurie Goddard scored both goals for Hofstra in the second half, netting his first brace of the season within just four minutes. He got the Pride in front with a flying header to the far corner in the 54th minute on a cross sent into the box by senior forward Teddy Baker, his fourth assist of the season.
The Elon defense was still catching its collective breath as Goddard found space inside the penalty area and faced goalkeeper Tomasz Wroblewski in a one-on-one situation. Graduate forward Jacob Woznicki found his teammate alone in the box and supplied the assist before Goddard found the same corner from the edge of the six-yard area.
The two-goal performance made Goddard, a junior transfer from Merrimack College, the new leading scorer for Hofstra as he reached nine goals on the season. Goddard is the leading scorer for the Pride in the postseason with three goals in two games. He has 25 points on the season while leading the CAA with 54 shots and 27 shots on goal.
Hofstra outranked Elon 8-6 in shots and only allowed one shot on goal. Senior midfielder Scott Vatne had the only on-target shot of the day for the Phoenix in the 25th minute with a strike taken well outside the box. Vatne, the reigning CAA Player of the Year, finished the season with 10 goals and seven assists, leading his team in scoring while ranking second in the conference in both categories.
Pride goalkeeper Filippo Dadone kept out Vatne’s effort in the first half to record his eighth shutout of the season, putting him in a tie for third nationally. Hofstra’s defense, led by graduate and All-CAA First Team selection Pierce Infuso, didn’t allow a single shot attempt for nearly 25 minutes in the second half.
The Phoenix, led by head coach Marc Reeves, went one-and-done in the postseason and fell short of a championship title as regular season champions for a second time in three years. The Pride, led by head coach Richard Nuttall, has stopped them both times. Hofstra doubled down on their regular season victory over Elon to return to the conference championship game.
The Pride, reigning conference champions, ended the regular season with three road defeats against conference opponents. They conceded twice in each game, though they allowed no response this time as their playoff experience proved superior.
Following the top seed’s dismissal, Hofstra will host the CAA Championship Game against the sixth-seeded UNC-Wilmington (UNCW) at Captains Field on Saturday, Nov. 16. UNCW made some noise of their own in the semifinals on Sunday, Nov. 10, by defeating second-seeded Drexel University, 2-0. For the first time in tournament history, the championship game will feature two teams seeded fourth or lower.
With a win next weekend, the Pride will become the first team in conference history to win four consecutive championships. Nuttall’s side defeated UNCW 3-0 in a regular season meeting on Sept. 14.
Photo courtesy of Amelia Bashy
