By Doug Bonjour
With only five games remaining in the regular season and a conference record of 2-4, the Hofstra men’s soccer team entered the weekend in need of some statement wins. They were coming off their worst loss of the season, a 5-1 thumping at the hands of Virginia Commonwealth, and once again found themselves on the road. The Pride entered Friday with a 0-7-1 record away from home, and this time, their opponent was first place Drexel. Yet, a resilient Pride team displayed its grit, battling the conference-leader for the full 90 minutes, where, at the end of the night, they left with a hard-fought 1-0 win.
The win not only improved Hofstra’s position in the standings, but also gave the team a heightened level of confidence.
“For our psyche, [the win] will mean a tremendous boost. I think we will start to believe a bit now,” said Richard Nuttall, Hofstra men’s soccer head coach.
On Sunday, the Pride looked to build off their inspiring win, and this time, they found themselves playing at a much friendlier venue: Hofstra Soccer Stadium. The Pride faced Delaware, who despite having a 2-10-2 record, was coming off a 2-0 victory against Georgia State and a 1-1 tie with Northeastern. However, Hofstra pushed aside any momentum Delaware might have had, defeating the Fightin’ Blue Hens 2-1 in overtime.
“If we didn’t get [the Delaware] victory, we might have been out of the playoffs. It was good to get it and now we’re on a roll, and hopefully we’re going to keep winning games,” said Justin Flood, who scored the game-winning goal against Delaware.
The win certainly puts the Pride in a better position to qualify for the Colonial Athletic Conference playoffs, as they now find themselves tied for the final spot in the six-team tournament.
The weekend was highlighted by the continued resurgence of senior midfielder Chris Cox, who scored his third goal of the season and second since returning from a knee injury. Cox, whom Nuttall labeled “the best offensive player in the conference when fit and sharp,” has been limited to only nine starts on the season because of the injury.
Fortunately for the Pride, Cox is shaping back into form at the right time. Against Drexel, his lone shot-on-goal with just over 18 minutes remaining resulted in a 1-0 lead for Hofstra, which they did not relinquish.
Drexel was unable to form any solid scoring chances in the half. They took five shots, but none that required saves by Hofstra senior goaltender Tom Johansen.
Following the win, Nuttall explained that Hofstra was “dying a little bit at the end,” in terms of fatigue, but the men in blue and yellow “just kept battling.”
The Pride did indeed battle Drexel until the final whistle, with intensity such that Hofstra found themselves battling fatigue in the second half against Delaware as well.
“Fatigue has been a massive factor today in the second half. Drexel took a lot out of us,” explained Nuttall.
After Hofstra freshman forward Johannes Grahn scored just two minutes into the second half against Delaware, tying the game at 1-1, the Pride’s attack began to turn flat. Hofstra was suddenly unable to connect on passes, resulting into more scoring opportunities for Delaware. Flood also attributed the poor play to fatigue from the Drexel game.
“Everybody started getting tired from the [Drexel] game on Friday. Legs started going, so we started dropping and we were trying to battle. [Delaware] just started coming at us,” said Flood.
Luckily for the Pride, Delaware’s offense attack was unable to capitalize, sending the game into overtime.
Before the extra session, Nuttall brought his team into a huddle, where he stressed the need for people to step up. Flood listened to what Nuttall had to say, as he gathered a rebound off a Hofstra corner-kick and booted the ball past Delaware junior goaltender Jon Curry-Edwards for the winner.
The win improved Hofstra’s record to 5-8-2 (4-4) in the conference.
As for the remaining three games, Nuttall said his team will follow the old cliché, “one game at a time.”
With Chris Cox stepping up big down the stretch, Johannes Grahn (pictured) and the Pride could make a run at the CAA playoffs. (Keith Meilink)