By Joe Barone – STAFF WRITER

Frustration and missed opportunities perfectly describe the latest defeat for the Hofstra Pride men’s soccer team, a 1-0 shutout loss to the hands of the College of Charleston. 

From opening kickoff, Hofstra dominated the Cougars. However, missed opportunities plagued this Pride team. Most notably, CAA point-leader Joseph Holland had two occasions to crack the scoreboard.

In the 13th minute, the midfielder took a shot from outside the box which Charleston’s goaltender, Kevin Shields, ultimately knocked away. Just one minute later, the Cougars’ defensemen swarmed and negated Holland’s second attempt to put Hofstra up in the first half.

Charleston’s Shields was on top of his game early. He stopped two shots in the first half and added seven more by the end of the match. His opposition, Patric Pray, blocked one and surrendered one goal.

The lone goal of the game came as the teams approached the 19th minute.

Charleston’s midfielder Adam Purvis carried the ball from the left side and sent it across the field. With the ball elevated, Hamilton Carlin put his head up and knocked it into the vacated portion of the net, past Pray, to give the Cougars a lead they would not relinquish.

Carlin’s goal was his second of the season.

Hofstra would not go down without a fight. After Charleston took the lead, Hofstra took over, outshooting their opponents 15-6 by the time the clock ran out. Adding to the intensity were seven Hofstra corner kicks that were denied by the Cougars’ defense.

In the 49th minute, the ball nearly sneaked in front of the net to the Pride’s Harri Hawkins. The forward was halted by a Cougars’ defenseman, just six yards away from the cage, protecting the lead for Charleston.

As time ticked off, Hofstra scrambled to force overtime. In the 81st minute, Holland had another golden chance to tie the game. Standing outside the box, Holland’s free kick on net was denied from Shields, prompting the midfielder to look to the sky in angst. 

Shaken but not beaten yet, Hofstra had another chance just four minutes later. This time the ball entered the box striking the right post. It was too far for a Pride attacker as the clock ran out.

The CAA-leading Pride did everything in their command to tie the score, led by Holland’s five shots and Andreas Iosifides’ three. However, Kevin Shields shut the door.

The loss terminated Hofstra’s two game winning streak as they fell to 10-4-0 overall and 5-1 in league play. Charleston advanced to a 6-5-2 record and 3-1-1 against the CAA.