In a hard-fought defensive battle that went through two overtime periods, the Hofstra men’s soccer team played Harvard University to a scoreless draw on Sunday night. The game marked Hofstra goalie Leonard Arkhanhelskyi’s first career shutout.
The Pride (1-2-1) outshot Harvard (1-0-1) by a margin of 20-9, but was unable to find the back of the net, in a game where defense was front and center. Hofstra (5 shots on goal) and Harvard (3 SoG) struggled to capitalize on their offensive opportunities.
Harvard’s only shot on goal in the first half was a well-struck shot that required Arkhanhelskyi to make a diving save for the Pride in the 11th minute; that save proved to be one of the biggest plays of the game.
In the second half, Hofstra had opportunity after opportunity, but couldn’t finish any of the 11 shots they took. In the 47th minute, it looked like the Pride were going to finally get on the board when Adam Savill fired a shot on net seconds after Danny Elliot had taken a wide shot.
Savill’s shot was saved by Harvard’s goalkeeper Kyle Parks and resulted in a corner kick from Joseph Holland. Holland sent the ball to Elliot, whose header was just wide of the net. In the 77th minute, Hofstra’s Luke Brown sent a solid look towards the left post that missed just wide, ending the Pride’s last real threat of scoring in regulation.
Both teams also had their chances in the overtime periods. Holland was given a free kick in the first overtime period, but his low shot was scooped up. Hofstra dodged a bullet halfway through the second overtime, as Harvard had an uncontested shot that sailed wide and was also called offside.
Then in the final seconds of the game, the Pride had one final push to score when Elliot broke free from the Harvard defense and unloaded from right in front of the net, but Parks denied Elliot to complete the draw.
Coming off of consecutive losses in which they allowed a total of eight goals, the Pride’s defense had the strong game that they needed.
When Hofstra plays its first home game of the season on Sept. 10 against Army West Point, the offense will need to step up after being held scoreless over their last three games.
The Pride has twelve days to shape up before they begin CAA play against James Madison on Sept. 17.
