Hofstra advanced to 2-0 in conference play by defeating the Cougars of the College of Charleston 4-0, blanking the opponent for the Pride’s third straight shutout win.
Freshman Luke Brown had his first career assist just eight minutes into the game, breaking away and passing to junior Meshack Eshun Addy, who shot the ball into the lower right corner of the net for his second goal of the season.
Junior Danny Elliott made his way through the Cougars’ defense in the 15th minute, taking a shot past Charleston goalkeeper Kevin Shields into the upper left corner for his third goal of the season and the Pride’s second of the game. The significance of the goal was emphasized by Elliott’s impressive cartwheel into a backflip in celebration.
“I don’t usually hit it with my right foot so when I swung my right foot and it went in I was just excited. We tried to get up at halftime because we haven’t done that this season,” Brown said after the game.
The second goal was the first time either team has scored more than one goal in their matchups.
The matchup featured a sibling rivalry as Joseph Holland squared up against his younger brother, Cornell, a sophomore at Charleston.
On playing his brother, Joseph said, “The first few minutes were a bit surreal but after that he was just another normal player. I wasn’t saying to my teammates, ‘Pick up my brother,’ I was saying, ‘Pick up number 12.’ I kicked him in the beginning and whispered in his ear, but other than that he played very, very well tonight.”
Hofstra’s defense proved effective yet again, holding off the Cougars by not providing any solid opportunities to take shots. The Cougars finished the game with zero shots on goal and went 0-6 on corner kicks.
The Pride made good use of its breakaway opportunities, keeping the Charleston defense off-balance with good footwork.
With 10 minutes remaining, Elliott scored his second unassisted goal of the night and fourth of the season – this time without the backflip celebration. Two minutes later, sophomore Daniel Massey scored his first goal of the season with an assist from junior Jon Fraser.
The lead allowed head coach Richard Nuttall to use twelve subs throughout the game, giving players an opportunity to gain experience on the field, including sophomore Krishna Nainani and sophomore goalie Brian Rubinaccio, who both made their first appearances this season. All three keepers on the roster made an appearance in the game.
“These 24 players have been outstanding in practice and they’ve been working hard. They make the starters better, so I’m very happy for them,” head coach Nuttall said on his ability to play his subs.
Hofstra will return to action on Wednesday, Sept. 28, taking on Northeastern University on the road.
