In a match decided by penalty kicks, the Hofstra men’s soccer team fell short of a Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) Championship as they were defeated by James Madison University (JMU) Dukes on Sunday, Nov. 11, with a final score of 2-1. 

Penalty kicks led to goal after goal for James Madison. The Dukes kept finding the back of the net – where they converted on all of their shots – and Hofstra wasn’t able to answer back. 

“Tough way to go out on the penalty kicks,” said Hofstra head coach Richard Nuttall. “But that’s just soccer as we know it.”

Early on in the game, JMU came out firing after taking an early 1-0 lead, thanks to Manuel Ferriol’s ninth-minute goal. 

The Dukes probably believed that they had secured the win, until the Pride finally answered back late in the second half.

Hofstra’s Matthew Vowinkel scored his eighth goal of the season off of Luke Brown’s dime. This tied the game at one in the 80th minute. 

“It was a great whipped in ball from [Brown],” Nuttall said. “[Vowinkel] finished it… I thought we were going to go out and win it then.”

With the game tied at one, neither team scored in the rest of regulation, sending the match to overtime.

Hofstra did not record any shots on goal during the two extra periods, but senior goalie frecorded two saves to keep the score tied after two overtime periods. Ashton ended the night with six saves. 

“[Ashton has] done a great job,” Nuttall said. “He had a very, very good game, as did a lot of the guys.”

The penalty kicks featured a lot of scoring. Out of the eight penalty kicks attempted, six found the back of the net. The two that didn’t go in were both Hofstra’s shots. That helped JMU clinch the CAA title. 

It was a great defensive effort by both teams as JMU’s defense only allowed Hofstra to have three shots on goal, and Hofstra’s defense only gave up seven shots on goal to JMU. 

Each team only gave up one goal through regulation and extra time. 

The Pride end their season with a strong 10-6-5 record. Hofstra was unable to secure the title against James Madison University, who finished 12-4-3.

Photo Courtesy of Cam Keough / Th Hofstra Chronicle