By Andrew Scharff
The Hofstra men’s soccer team likes to do things the hard way this season. The defending CAA conference champions didn’t make things any easier on themselves, losing 1-0 to the UNC-Wilmington Sunday afternoon at the UNCW Soccer Stadium.
The Pride dominated most of the game but could not finish its chances, while UNCW took advantage of their biggest opportunity.
“Overall I pleased with the way we played, but the overall result didn’t go our way. It was just one of those days,” Hofstra head coach Richard Nuttall said.
The Seahawks’ (7-4-1, 2-4-0 CAA) goal came in the 40th minute as defenseman Juho Karjalainen converted on a penalty kick. The goal was set up as Hofstra cleared the ball out of the penalty box, but UNCW forward Ricky Henderson was able to control the ball and bring it back into the box. Henderson, who was not in the threatening area in the box, was pulled down from behind by Pride senior Arnel Andrada.
“He wasn’t in a great opportunity to score,” Pride assistant coach Brian Suskiewicz said. “I wish we were a bit smarter on defense.”
Referee Joe Biava called the foul on Andrada and signaled for a penalty kick. Karjalainen did the rest, as he buried it past Pride freshman goalie James Winters, who started in place of the injured Tom Johansen. Winters had two saves in the loss.
The Pride did have its chances to tie the game. Junior Chris Cox had Hofstra’s best chances, the first of which came on a crossing pass from freshman defender Richie Martinez. Cox got his head on the pass but UNCW goalkeeper Brad Knighton (four saves) made a beautiful toe save.
Cox had another chance, but his shot hit the crossbar and then was cleared by Wilmington defenders. After starting the season with leg injury, Cox has been on fire. He scored two goals against William & Mary and assisted on the game winning goal against Old Dominion two weekends ago.
The other streaking Pride player was shut down by the UNCW defense. Michael Todd, who was coming off back-to-back two goal games, was held without shot on Sunday.
“They’re going to focus on Michael,” Suskiewicz said. “He’s a great player and our leading scorer. They had a lot of numbers on him all game.”
UNCW caught a break when the game was delayed for 40 minutes in the second half due to lightning just as the Pride started its counter-attack.
“The lightning delay stopped our rhythm. We were getting really on top of them. They were dying physically,” Nuttall said. “They got a chance to rest for 40 minutes. It’s unfortunate but there’s nothing you can do about it.”
As the Pride heads down the home stretch of season and starts to prepare for the CAA Tournament, there can’t be any more of “these days”. Hofstra (6-4-2, 3-2-1) currently resides in fifth place in the CAA standings and are on the bubble for qualifying for the tournament.
The Pride, riding a three-game win streak, needed this road win badly. At 1-4-1, Hofstra has not found a way to win on the road.
Frankly, Hofstra can’t afford to lose any more games and this makes these upcoming games “must win.”
“We need to keep playing and play with confidence. Sometimes we lack playing with confidence,” Nuttall said.
It does not get any easier for the Pride, because next up is third place James Madison Friday night followed by a tough Virginia Commonwealth team on Sunday afternoon.
“We have to win, there’s nothing else to say,” Pride midfielder Bill Pinto said. “We have to win games. We’re going to work hard in practice and work hard in games and we will get the job done.”
They have to, or else more of “those days” will be on the horizon.