The Hofstra University men’s soccer team sustained a late rally from Drexel University to knock the Dragons 1-0 at Drexel. The Pride improved to 6-4 with two straight wins, also rocking a 3-1 conference record. The Dragons fell to 4-3-3 with an even 2-2 record in Coastal Athletic Association (CAA) play.
Hofstra controlled the first half and grabbed an early lead, but a combination of snakebitten attack chances and solid defense in the 18-yard box from Drexel kept the Pride’s advantage at just one goal at the 45-minute mark.
That goal came from Owen Barnett just over a half-hour into the half. Stefano Campisi delivered a beautiful ball into the 18-yard box. As a defender sent it out, it found the head of Samuel Francou, who sent it right back into the box. Daniel Burko centered the pass directly to Barnett, who sent the ball past the diving goalkeeper Raphael Bartell to put Hofstra on top 1-0. The goal was not without cost, though. Barnett got his leg tangled up with Bartell as he finished the shot and left the game with an injury.
The Pride controlled possession for most of the stanza had five shots while not allowing Drexel to get a shot off in the first half. Despite the domination, only two of those shots were on goal: Barnett’s tally and a header from Pablo Hempelmann-Perez, which were punched out of the air by Bartell. The save, which came with just 44 seconds remaining in the half, ensured a close game at halftime.
In the first half, the Pride had two major missed opportunities. Evangelos Chrysostomou rang a shot off the top right of the crossbar just six and a half minutes in, and Hempelmann-Perez airmailed a shot four minutes before his header attempt.
The two teams played a competitive and physical first half, with a combined 23 fouls assessed, including a yellow card to each side – one for Burko and one for Drexel’s Morgan Worsfold-Gregg. While the chippiness died down a tad in the second half, with 16 combined fouls, three more yellows were assessed. Campisi and Jack Shannon were both victims of hard hits and responded in kind, both being booked for the retaliatory actions. In addition, the Hofstra bench received a card with 10 minutes remaining.
Scoring chances were much more evenly distributed in the second half, with both goaltenders turning aside two shots. The most heroic stop came with three minutes left, Gino Cervoni made a diving save on Julian Pittaoulis, securing the victory for Hofstra. Cervoni kept his third clean sheet of the season and has saved 15 of the 20 shots he has faced so far.
Bartell made two more stellar saves, one on Burko and a leaping stop on Gabriel Pacheco. The senior keeper made three saves on the afternoon to increase his save percentage to .739.
The next match for the Pride is far more than a conference matchup, on Saturday, Oct. 4, the Pride will host Northeastern University and honor head coach Richard Nuttall, who is retiring at the end of the season. Gametime is set for 6 p.m
