The Hofstra Pride men’s soccer team continued their stretch of dominance on Tuesday night, as they defeated the St. Joseph’s University Hawks by a score of 4-0 at Hofstra Soccer Stadium. It was a complete team effort for the Pride, as four different players scored goals in the win. Hofstra now holds a nine-match unbeaten streak, as well as a share of first place in the Colonial Athletic Association standings.
“We were in control of the game 90% of the time,” Hofstra head coach Richard Nuttall said. “We battled well, we got the ball to our special players, and they produced.”
The two teams largely played to a stalemate throughout the opening minutes, with a majority of the match being played in the middle third. The Pride struck first in the 21’ minute, when the familiar duo of Eliot Goldthorp and Ryan Carmichael connected once again for the game’s first goal, as Carmichael rose above multiple Hawks defenders to head home Goldthorp’s cross for his sixth goal of the season.
Goldthorp found himself on the assisting end of another goal minutes later when his corner kick was headed in by defender Marcelo Lage. The tally marked Lage’s first goal as a member of the Pride after transferring in from Coastal Carolina University.
Goldthorp joined in on the scoring, as his shot through heavy traffic found the back of the net in the 40’ minute. The sophomore has scored in each of the past four games and is now tied for the nation’s lead in goals with 11.
“Of course it’s great to do that,” Goldthorp said. “But I think the bigger picture is getting as far as we can as a team. Playing every game and winning every game; that’s the aim going forward.”
Leading by three goals after 45 minutes, Hofstra wasn’t done stuffing the stat sheet in the second half. Sophomore midfielder Lorenzo Selini scored the first goal of his collegiate career courtesy of a well-placed pass from Oliver Svalander.
“Can’t really top that, I mean, the lads were overjoyed for him,” Goldthorp said of Selini. “A positive for him to get a goal and he deserves it for all of the hard work he’s putting in.”
Hofstra outshot Lafayette 16-5, and held them to just two shots on net, both of which were saved by goalkeeper Wessel Speel, who recorded his fourth clean sheet of the season in the win.
The Pride is now to 8-0-1 in its last nine games, moving to 9-2-1 overall this season with Tuesday’s win. Hofstra now looks ahead to a crucial conference matchup with the Elon University Phoenix on Saturday, Oct. 15, in a rematch of last year’s conference championship game. The winner of Saturday’s match will gain sole possession of first place in the CAA standings heading into the final stretch of the regular season, and a win could give the Pride a good shot at cracking the top 25 rankings for the first time this year.
Photo Courtesy of Alexis Friedman/The Hofstra Chronicle
