The No. 17 ranked Hofstra men’s soccer team enters its 2022 campaign with hopes of the same success they saw in the year prior, namely a Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) championship victory. In 2021 the Pride was a force, finishing the regular season with an impressive 18-2-2 record, the school’s best finish this century.
The Pride’s success didn’t end with just a CAA championship, as the team made noise in the NCAA tournament as well, winning two games, including a stunning 8-2 rout over Penn State on the road in the second round of the tournament. Hofstra saw its 2022 campaign end in a 4-0 defeat at the hands of the University of Pittsburgh in the third round.
This year, the Pride enter the season as resounding favorites to repeat as CAA champions. In the preseason poll conducted every year by the head coaches in the conference, Hofstra garnered nine out of 10 first place votes and received 81 points, which was 20 more than any other team in the conference received. Last season, Hofstra scored 56 goals during their 2021 campaign, the most of any division one school in the entire nation.
Hofstra men’s soccer head coach Richard Nuttall spoke on what made the team so exciting this upcoming season.
“Sprinkled in are fantastic players who are very talented offensively and defensively,” Nuttall said. “I’m very proud we were the top scorers in the nation last year. If you ever come to the Hofstra soccer stadium, fans will be entertained.”
One of the Pride’s most talented players returning for this upcoming season is junior Ryan Carmichael, who led the team with 15 goals scored in 2021 and was tied with four other players for the second most goals scored in the entire nation. Carmichael was one of four Hofstra players named to the CAA Preseason All-Conference Team.
Another player who is set to make waves for the Pride this season is fifth year senior Hendrik Hebbeker, who is fresh off a successful 2021 season in which he tallied nine goals and 11 assists for a total of 29 points. His strong 2021 campaign didn’t just earn him CAA preseason team honors, but Hebbeker was also named the CAA preseason player of the year.
Like many players on the team, Hebbeker cannot wait to get the season started.
“Excitement is the main word,” Hebbeker said. “The long offseason is so different. During that offseason, there are so many times you think of next season. It’s tough, but it’s always so exciting when you return to the team.”
Along with Hebbeker and Carmichael, the Pride also had two other players make the CAA preseason team: sophomore defender Mason Tatafu, and junior goalkeeper Wessel Speel. Hofstra senior captain Stefan Mason was also named as an honorable mention to the CAA preseason team.
In contrast, one of Hofstra’s largest losses from last season was the departure of striker Matthew Vowinkel. With the departure of a key player as important as Vowinkel, someone would need to step up and fill that void. The person to fill the massive gap left by Volwinkel might be one of the many newcomers on the team.
While Hebbeker and Nuttall both spoke highly of the players that were on last year’s team, they also praised new additions to the group as well. One player both Hebbeker and Nuttall specifically mentioned was sophomore newcomer Eliot Goldthorp.
“Eliot is very good at keeping the ball,” Hebbeker said. “Eliot is almost like a fake striker; I love watching him play.”
Goldthorp joins the team after spending his freshman season at Old Dominion University, leading the team in points with four goals and two assists. Goldthorp’s experience doesn’t just start with college, but he has also played professional games in the lower levels of English football.
Nuttall also commended many of the new faces who have shown promise in pre-season so far, including Marcelo Lage, Thomas Piazza, Tommy Wagner, Owen Barnett and Nico Oberrauch.
Nuttall also made sure to praise and acknowledge the improvement of other clutch members of the squad.
“Jason Ramirez is really buying into the situation, and Lorenzo Selini has really come a long way,” Nuttall explained. “They are the main two who have shown strong improvement since last year.”
Ramirez has been a member of the Pride since the 2019 season and has been a regular off the bench since then, appearing in over 15 games in both 2019 and 2021. Across 45 games played over two years, Ramirez has tallied two goals and four assists for a total of eight points.
Selini was one of two Hofstra players to be selected to the CAA All Rookie Team in 2021. Despite not recording any starts for the team, Selini came off the bench in a dozen games over the course of the season and recorded one assist.
Nuttall showed that he leads by example for his team, exemplifying the importance of not getting ahead of oneself, while simultaneously keeping one’s eyes on the prize. When asked if there were any games on the schedule that he was looking forward to or felt nervous about, this was all he had to say:
“All I care about is Fordham on Thursday; if we are not near our best, we will lose. I couldn’t tell you the rest of the schedule.”
The Pride open the 2022 season on Thursday, Aug. 25 at home against the Fordham Rams. In 2021, the Rams finished the season with a 7-9-3 record, but Nuttall made sure to stress that for the Pride to be victorious, they must be at their best.
Photo Courtesy of Hofstra Athletics
