On Saturday, Oct. 22, the Hofstra men’s soccer team was held to a 2-2 draw against the Drexel University Dragons at Vidas Field in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. This result puts Hofstra at an overall record of 9-3-3 and a conference record of 4-2-2.
Drexel started the scoring when they were awarded a free kick 16 minutes into the match. The set piece was curled directly into the box and headed into the bottom of the net by defender Josh Dubost, leaving Hofstra goalkeeper Wessel Speel rooted to the spot. It was Drexel’s first shot and first goal.
Hofstra quickly looked to find the equalizer when in the 18th minute, midfielder Hendrik Hebbeker charged down the sideline and crossed into the box, but the shot was cleared by a Drexel defender.
Minutes later the Pride had a chance on a free kick of their own, but leading goal scorer Eliot Goldthorp was unable to get a clean shot off as the ball pinballed its way out of the box.
However, Goldthorp and the Pride had another chance to get on the board after Drexel was called for a handball. This time, on the penalty kick, Goldthorp drilled the shot past Drexel goalkeeper Alessandro Capogna to equalize the score at 1-1. It was Goldthorp’s 12th goal of the year, who leads the nation.
Chances kept coming for Hofstra when, 28 minutes in, Goldthorp sent an inviting cross into the box, meeting the head of defender Marcelo Lage whose redirection landed just wide of the mark.
Hofstra’s first corner of the game resulted in a close chance as Goldthorp delivered the ball into the box, where defender Nico Oberrauch’s headed effort was on target, but it was stopped by Capogna in goal.
The first half ended at one a piece, with Hofstra controlling possession and shots, with 10 compared to Drexel’s two.
The second half proved to be more of the same as Hofstra continued to generate chances but struggled to put them away. Less than a minute into the half, Oberrauch tried to find Ryan Carmichael but the pass was intercepted by Capogna.
The Pride’s plan of packing the midfield proved to be successful when in the 70th minute, their press forced Drexel into a mistake. As the Dragons’ Valtteri Hiilloskorpi gave the ball away, Carmichael drove the ball forward, beat the defender with a fake and confidently put it past the keeper for his ninth goal of the season and Hofstra’s first lead of the match.
This lead was short lived, though, when Hofstra decided to pull everyone back in their own half to maintain the score line, giving Drexel time with the ball. Giancarlo Vaccaro tied the game for the Dragons in the 74th minute.
Hofstra outshot Drexel 21 to 10, with nine shots on target for the Pride, but Campagna was huge for the Dragons, making seven saves in goal.
The next time Hofstra takes the field will be in Easton, Pennsylvania where they will face Lafayette College on Tuesday, Oct. 25. Kickoff is at 7 p.m.
Photo courtesy of Alexis Friedman/The Hofstra Chronicle
