No team in the Coastal Athletic Association (CAA) has ever won four consecutive men’s soccer championships. Fourth-seeded Hofstra University has the chance to do just that when they host sixth-seeded UNC-Wilmington (UNCW) in the conference championship game on Saturday, Nov. 16. Kickoff from Captains Field is scheduled for 7 p.m.
The Pride, ranked No. 18 in the country, prepares to make its fifth consecutive championship game appearance. Led by head coach Richard Nuttall, they upset regular-season champion and tournament host Elon University 2-0 in the CAA semifinals. Before that, they defeated the fifth-seeded College of Charleston in the first round with an Olimpico goal scored by senior forward Teddy Baker in overtime.
Midfielder Laurie Goddard leads Hofstra in scoring with nine goals, three of which have come in the conference tournament. The junior transfer from Merrimack College, who’s also reigning NCAA National Player of the Week, scored once against Charleston and scored both goals against Elon. He leads the CAA with 54 total shots and 27 shots on goal.
UNCW seeks its second CAA title and the first since 2009. Led by head coach Aidan Heaney, the Seahawks defeated third-seeded Monmouth University on penalties in the first round before they defied the odds again by taking down second-seeded Drexel University, 2-0. They seek to become the first sixth seed to win the CAA Championship since James Madison University in 2014.
Substitutes have played a big role in the Seahawks’ postseason charge. Freshman forward Christian Acevedo leads the team with four goals in 18 appearances and only one start. This includes the equalizer against Monmouth after coming off the bench. Sophomore forward Caleb Powell, who was also subbed on, provided the assist on that goal and scored the winning penalty in the shootout.
Hofstra possesses the greatest goal margin in the conference with a plus-19 differential. UNCW ranks second-to-last in that category with nine more goals allowed than scored this season. Yet, both teams find themselves one win away from lifting the CAA trophy.
The Pride is 7-0-1 at home this year and unbeaten in their previous 21 games on their turf, a stretch that goes back over two years. In their 3-0 victory against UNCW on Sept. 14. Hofstra scored all their goals in the first half, resulting in the Seahawks replacing their starting goalkeeper with freshman Trey Smiley. Not only did Smiley not concede against the Pride, but he’s since turned into Heaney’s first choice in goal.
Hofstra goalkeeper Filippo Dadone picked up his eighth shutout of the season against Elon, now tied for fifth in the country. He sat behind Wessel Speel for the first three years, but with his transfer to Duke University for his graduate season, Dadone will get the chance to lead Hofstra to conference glory. Graduate players Roc Carles, Pierce Infuso, Jack O’Malley and Logan D’Aoust will each play in their fifth consecutive conference championship game.
It’s the first time since the CAA’s inception in 1983 that the final features two teams seeded fourth or lower. The winner will automatically secure their spot for the NCAA Championship Tournament, with the bracket set to be announced at 1 p.m. on Monday, Nov. 18.
