The Hofstra men’s soccer team had their winning streak snapped by the Elon University Phoenix after a 3-1 loss on Saturday, Oct. 15, at Hofstra Soccer Stadium. The Pride falls to 9-3-1 overall and 4-2-1 in Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) play, while Elon advances to 8-3-2 overall and 5-1-1 in CAA play. This game was a rematch of the 2021 CAA championship, where Hofstra was victorious. This loss is the Pride’s first since Sept. 3.
Neither team made much of the first half, as the game remained scoreless throughout. The Phoenix outshot the Pride 5-4 and were largely the aggressors. Hofstra head coach Richard Nuttall commended Elon’s gameplay.
“A tough game versus a very tough opponent,” Nuttall said. “They did very well; they had a very tough formation to break down. We struggled with it, and I thought they defended our players as well as scoring a couple of good goals.”
Elon broke the stalemate 8:35 into the second half, with an unassisted goal from defender Vemund Hole Vik. The Phoenix scored their second goal off a corner from midfielder Scott Vatne which found Victor Stromsten’s head in the box. Elon’s third and final goal came off a misplaced pass from Hofstra’s goalkeeper Wessel Speel which Vatne intercepted and chipped over Speel’s head. The Pride’s lone goal came on a penalty kick from forward Ryan Carmichael after a foul from Elon’s Jeppe Jordoson with just three seconds left in the game.
Nuttall attributed many of his squad’s mistakes to a lack of communication.
“[The communication was] poor [the] first half, poor the first few minutes of the second half and then we started getting together,” he said. “It is one of the problems from today’s game; we were a bit flat today for some reason. Maybe it’s been the intense schedule we’ve got or maybe it’s just the nature of the game, but it was a bit disappointing.”
Speel recorded two saves while allowing three goals, his most goals allowed in a single game this season. Elon’s goalkeeper, Ryan Bilichuk, recorded three saves and had one goal allowed.
Hofstra’s Eliot Goldthorp recorded three shots, with all three on goal in his first game without a goal since Sept. 24. He was also awarded a yellow card after a scuffle with Elon’s Majaliwa Msabaha. Carmichael recorded four shots, with one on goal and the lone penalty goal scored for the Pride.
Both teams defended aggressively, as each side racked up two yellow cards apiece. Hofstra’s were given to Goldthorp and Stefan Mason, while Elon’s Michael Clow and Kasper Lehm recorded yellows as well.
Injuries throughout the game momentarily sidelined Hofstra’s Roc Carles and Hendrik Hebbeker. Hebbeker was voted the CAA preseason player of the year and is coming back from a hamstring injury.
When asked about Hebbeker’s performance, Nuttall wasn’t worried.
“He’s struggled a little bit with his sharpness and his fitness, but we’ve gotten him a lot of minutes in the last three games,” Nuttall said. “So going into the end of the season I think he’ll come through, once he gets back where he needs to be he’ll be back to his old self.”
The Pride will look to bounce back against power-five competitor University of Virginia. The match will take place at Scott Stadium in Charlottesville, Virginia on Tuesday, Oct. 18. Kickoff is slated for 7 p.m.
Photo courtesy of Evan Bernstein
