By Jake Nussbaum (Assistant Sports Editor)
There are no easy games in this league. Or at least that seemed to be the melody sung by Hofstra men’s soccer head coach Richard Nuttall on Wednesday night.
What seemed like a winnable game for Hofstra slipped away at the end as Northeastern delivered a heartbreaking go ahead goal in double overtime to end the marathon Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) match.
“We deserved the game, and we definitely didn’t deserve to lose,” said Nuttall. “There were a lot of great players on the field. That was as good as we have played all year, but hats off to them.”
Hofstra (9-4, 3-3 CAA) lost the game 1-0, when 31 seconds into double overtime Northeastern senior midfielder scored a dramatic goal to end what was a very tough fought game by both teams. Northeastern (10-1, 5-0-1 CAA) has yet to lose a game to any conference foes, and continued it’s stellar play on Wednesday night.
“Northeastern has a tremendous team, probably the best team we have played all year, and we were magnificent tonight,” said Nuttall. “To be honest, we created six or seven great chances and only allowed two or three. We didn’t deserve to lose, but they are a quality team, and it came down to the second overtime.”
Overall, Hofstra played a very good game, only allowing seven shots on goal. Hofstra senior goalkeeper Adam Janowski had a terrific game saving a total of six shots, but his counterpart, Northeastern senior goalkeeper Oliver Blum, played even better.
“He [Janowski] did have a great game, he did everything he had to do, and he made some great saves,” said Nuttall. “He kept us in the game, and he did his job.”
Looking ahead Hofstra will be taking on another conference foe, as they travel to the University of Delaware on Sunday October 21st. It is sure to be another tough game for the Pride, but may be a good opportunity to take advantage of a struggling team, as Delaware hasn’t won a game since the end of September.
“Same old story, every team we have played are very good,” said Nuttall. “They have played well recently…and to be honest it’s the same scene, tough game after tough game.”
