On Thursday, Aug. 24, the Hofstra Pride men’s soccer team opened up their new season with a 1-0 victory over the Marist College Red Foxes at Hofstra Soccer Stadium in Hempstead, New York.
“From that point of view, we have to say that we’re very happy with the win,” said Hofstra head coach Richard Nuttall. “But sloppy overall.”
Ryan Carmichael scored the winning goal for the Pride in the 59th minute. The reigning Coastal Athletic Association (CAA) Player of the Year received the cross from fellow forward Eliot Goldthorp on a free kick. Carmichael headed it in from close range and beat Marist goalkeeper Luca Bulfon to the near side.
“Ryan [Carmichael] could’ve had three or four today,” said Nuttall. “He’ll not be happy with his finishing, but the fact is he scored the winner from an Eliot [Goldthorp] cross. Brilliant, two fantastic young men.”
The Pride outperformed the Red Foxes 22-12 in total shots and 11-3 in shots-on-goal.
“I think 2-0 or 3-0 would’ve been a fair result,” said Nuttall. “But soccer’s not like that sometimes. When you really think about it, this game could’ve finished 1-1.”
In a match that included seven bookings between the two teams, the biggest twist came in the 67th minute when Marist defender Demarre Montoute was sent off following a second yellow card.
Despite being forced to play with only 10 men, the Red Foxes came close to equalizing in the 75th minute. as fForward Richard Morel had an opportunity in front of goal, where he fired a shot down the middle to where Hofstra goalkeeper Wessel Speel was standing. Speel made the save, one of three that night, making it the 17th shutout of his career.
“I’ve got to give kudos to Marist,” said Nuttall. “They’re athletic, they work hard, and they work well as a unit. Tactically, they were sound. It causes quite a few problems. Wessel [Speel] was on top form, I thought he made two good saves.”
The Pride generated many more chances than their opponents, but their finishing nearly wasn’t enough to hang on in the close affair.
“We talked at length with the players in the locker room,” said Nuttall. “If you look at the stats, the shots, shots for, shots against and shots on goal, it looks like a good performance. But overall, I thought we were sloppy.”
There were 37 total fouls, 18 of which were committed by Hofstra.
“I thought there were too many fouls called in the game,” said Nuttall. “The game just became disjointed, and we lost our flow on the field.”
This is the Pride’s fifth consecutive win in opening fixtures. The team’s next match will be their first travel game of the season as they take on Farleigh Dickinson University in Hackensack, New Jersey, on Monday, Aug. 28, kickoff scheduled for 7 p.m.
“The good news is that it’s a great win against a good team,” said Nuttall. “They’ll manage to win quite a few games.”
Photo courtesy of Hofstra Athletics/Marc Levine
