Since their freshman year with Hofstra men’s soccer, seniors Joe Wright and Hendrik Hebbeker have made a lasting impact on the program and the school. At the conclusion of their time playing at Hofstra in December, both Wright and Hebbeker decided to prolong their stays on Long Island and play for a fifth season. Ending the year with such an incredible season – the best record in program history – left both players wanting another go.

“Last year was incredible to be a part of,” Wright said. “Winning 18 games, only losing two and then not losing a game outside of conference, apart from Pittsburgh in the Sweet 16, which was obviously a really hard game against a really hard opposition. It was really impressive to be part of and it was probably the most rewarding aspect of my time here, the thing that I’m most proud of.”

Prior to the 2021 season, Hofstra men’s soccer team lost to James Madison University (JMU) in the Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) championship tournament on penalty kicks for three straight years. With JMU’s decision to leave the CAA prior to the championship game, they didn’t have to worry about repeating past mistakes once again.

“Last spring, nobody could believe it when we lost again to penalties, again in the final to the same team,” Hebbeker said. “It was almost like the universe didn’t want us to win. To come back and beat JMU here on our field and then to win the CAA was a nice story and great accomplishment.”

Not only did the team beat JMU in regular season play and win the CAA Championship Title at home, it also continued to the third round of NCAA playoffs in their Division I National Tournament, while having the best season record Hofstra has seen. Following the conclusion to the season with the NCAA Third Round loss to the University of Pittsburgh, the team and coaching staff went on to be awarded many accolades.

Hofstra men’s soccer coaches Richard Nuttall, Stephen Roche, Shaun Foster and Adam Janowski were named Atlantic Region Coaching Staff of the Year by United Soccer Coaches. Pride players Ryan Carmichael, Wessel Speel, George O’Malley, Matthew Vowinkel and Hendrik Hebbeker were all named to the All-Atlantic Region First Team for their 2021 season play. Adding on to all the Pride’s success, they were ranked 13th in the nation ­­– a record for Hofstra’s men’s soccer program – following a wondrous season.

Experiencing the outstanding high of this season, Hebbeker and Wright both desired to extend their time playing at Hofstra for one more year, a privilege available to them because of the coronavirus pandemic.

“Definitely the fact that it went so well and was such an enjoyable season. I just wanted to have another one of those,” Hebbeker said of his decision to stay another year. If the star midfielder had not decided to stay he most likely would have returned home to Germany for graduate school because “playing professionally or on a competitive level is almost impossible and I didn’t want to stop,” he said.

It wasn’t always as smooth sailing as last year at Hofstra for Wright and Hebbeker. Beginning their time on Long Island, both faced hardships which they have been able to overcome in their four years on the team.

Wright’s primary struggle during his first year at Hofstra was related to a bad injury he sustained, keeping him “out for twelve months after a knee surgery,” he said. “Since then, I’ve been amazingly well looked after by all the staff – the medical staff, the athletic trainers, the coaches – who were all very patient with me and helped me through a really difficult period, especially being so far from home.”

Hebbeker faced a different issue in his first year here. “The language barrier was a little bit of a problem, because I didn’t speak that well and I was always glad when I could understand what somebody was actually saying,” he said. “I had trouble with replying with something that accurately represented my thoughts.”

Despite the language barrier Hebbeker faced as a freshman mathematics and physics student at Hofstra, that same year he began conducting research with physics department professor Dr. Matthew Smylie. Prior to Dr. Smylie joining Hofstra faculty and earning his doctorate, he studied as a Fulbright Scholar in Garching, Germany, a six-hour drive away from Hebbeker’s home in Cologne. Dr. Smylie’s background is in superconductivity in experimental low-temperature physics, exactly what Hebbeker had the opportunity to research alongside the professor.

“We researched basically a type of superconductor with a ferromagnetic compound and europium,” Hebbeker said. “It was really interesting for all its properties to find out more about superconductivity, especially at those really low temperatures. That’s why we went to Los Alamos in New Mexico because they have that big magnet there. We were able to distinctly measure at what point the superconductivity is suppressed at what magnetic field level.”

With not only the opportunities to come to America to play soccer at an equally academically invested university, but to also form lasting friendships with people from all over the globe and conduct research alongside highly respected faculty, both Hebbeker and Wright have made the most of their time at Hofstra.

The culmination of last year’s season proved how successful Joe Wright and Hendrik Hebbeker have been at Hofstra, excelling on and off the soccer pitch.

For Wright, this past season marked the beginning of “a point where I’m physically happy with myself again so that helps when it comes to playing,” he said. It also marked the most games Wright has played in a season at Hofstra. 

Hebbeker received quite a lot of recognition regarding his playing performance this past season, ending with a tie for the lead in assists and ranking third in goals among the Eastern College Athletic Conference. Nationally, the star midfielder ranked fifth in assists and 12th in points for this season. With a 3.97 GPA, Hebbeker was honored as an All-America Scholar by United Soccer Coaches, in addition to being a semifinalist for the MAC Hermann Trophy.

Hebbeker was surprised at his being named a semifinalist for the 2021 MAC Hermann Trophy, “It was nice of course, but I never would have never expected it, I wouldn’t have thought they would consider me,” he said. “I also think it’s also courtesy of the fact we had such a good season as a team, that players on our team get recognized. I think it could’ve really been me, Ryan [Carmichael] or Matt [Vowinkel], any of us and I was just the lucky one to get it.”

Due to the team’s overwhelming success this season, Hebbeker and Wright are excited to stay another year and see what more they can accomplish as a team.

“I would love to push on from what we’ve done this year and if possible, make it further in the national tournament,” Wright said. “We’ll be the big one now if w
e can go on from what we’ve already achieved. It’ll be difficult because we’ve lost some big players like Matt, Storm [Strongin] and George [O’Malley], but I have faith that we’ll bring in good players and the players we’ve got now will be a year older and a year more experienced. I think we can have a real good hopefully crack again at doing well.”

Photo courtesy of Alexis Friedman/The Hofstra Chronicle