Two goals in as many minutes from Gabriel Pacheco and Laurie Goddard sent the Hofstra University men’s soccer team past Monmouth University in a 4-1 victory on Saturday, Oct. 25. Stefano Campisi and Daniel Burko also added goals for the Pride, and Patrick Osiecki dragged one back for the Hawks.
Monmouth is the only team to defeat the Pride this year in Coastal Athletic Association play with a 1-0 victory at Captains Field in September.
The Pride outshot the Hawks 21-7, with six shots on goal for the Pride and one for Monmouth. Hofstra drew 10 corners compared to Monmouth’s four, and the Pride committed 18 fouls compared to 10 for the Hawks.
Senior goalkeeper Gino Cervoni made his 12th consecutive start in net for the Pride. He faced just one shot on target and conceded one goal. Freshman goalkeeper Herman Johnsen made his ninth consecutive start for the Hawks. He allowed four goals and made two saves.
The Pride had the first opportunity of the game with less than two minutes gone in the first half, when Campisi earned a free kick in a dangerous position; however, Johnsen punched the ball out to clear the threat.
The Hawks had their next chance when Jasen Bottini took a shot from outside the box that ended up wide of the net.
Hofstra had another opportunity with 15 minutes gone in the first half when Campisi sent a cross to Burko. Burko’s header rose over the net to keep the match scoreless.
About 25 minutes into play, Bottini received a straight red card for a challenge on Thengill Orrason, dropping Monmouth down to ten men for the remaining 65 minutes.
Hofstra took a shot on net with 15 minutes remaining in the first half. Pablo Hempelmann-Perez took a shot that forced Johnsen to make a diving stop to deny the Pride once again.
With about 12 minutes left in the first half, another Hawk found himself in the referee’s book when Erik Annborn received a yellow card for a high boot on Hempelmann-Perez.
The last ten minutes of the first half were all Hofstra, but both teams went into halftime tied at 0-0.
The Pride had their first chance of the second half when Johnsen bobbled a shot by Owen Barnett, but Hofstra wasn’t able to take advantage of the opportunity.
Hofstra kept the pressure, and it finally paid off when Campisi played a cross that landed right on the head of Pacheco. The header beat Johnsen and gave the Pride a 1-0 lead for Pacheco’s first goal of the year.
Just a little over two minutes later, Hempelmann-Perez found Burko with a cross, the ball ping ponged around the six-yard box, and Goddard finished the chance with a beautiful outside-of-the-foot shot to double Hofstra’s lead. The goal was Goddard’s 10th of the season, and it extended his point streak to five games. With the goal, Goddard becomes the first Hofstra player to score double-digit goals in a season since Ryan Carmichael scored 17 in the 2023 season.
With just over sixteen minutes remaining, Burko received the ball from a tackle by Hempelmann-Perez. Burko squared the ball over to Campisi, who beat Johnsen on his near post to add to the Hofstra lead. The goal was Campisi’s first of the season, and his third point on the night.
Monmouth still had fight left in them. Osiecki picked the pocket of Samuel Francou and took a strike from outside the box that beat Cervoni at his far post.
With about eight minutes left in the game, Aleksei Armas made a tackle on Osiecki, and Armas sent the ball down the wing to Burko, who was one-on-one with Johnsen. Armas beat Johnsen between the legs to add to put Hofstra up 4-1.
The Pride wrap up their regular season with a home matchup against Drexel University on Nov 1. Kick off from Captains Field is set for 6 p.m.
