The 7th seeded Hofstra University men’s soccer team’s season came to an end with a 2-1 defeat to the unseeded University of Vermont in the second round of the NCAA tournament on Sunday, Nov. 24. It was the Pride’s first home defeat in over two years, snapping a 22-game unbeaten streak.
“It’s so sad we’ve got to end this way,” said Hofstra head coach Richard Nuttall. “We’ve got seven or eight seniors now who are going out this way. [It’s] very sad, but I’m very proud of the guys. We worked hard and I thought we had a great second half.”
Hofstra’s season came to a controversial halt as graduate midfielder Roc Carles’ equalizer with four minutes left was disallowed. After initially calling a goal, the officials determined that a Hofstra player was offside and interfered with goalkeeper Niklas Herceg’s line of sight. Massive celebrations from the home fans turned into a chorus of boos.
“The officiating at the end of the game was just super questionable,” said graduate defender Pierce Infuso. “[I] don’t really understand how any of that went down; for it to be our last game and a sideline ref to judge the outcome of that game, I think it’s pretty poor.”
The Catamounts, the reigning America East Conference champions, took the lead within the first 10 minutes, Vermont’s leading scorer Yaniv Bazini netted his 11th goal of the season with the assist provided by defender Mike Bleeker. Hofstra took control in the second half, with Jacob Woznicki snatching an equalizer in the 52nd minute, his ninth goal of the season.
Seconds later, Vermont defender Zach Barrett lifted a pass into the penalty area. There, David Ismail used his first touch to back-heel forward the ball followed by a volley in mid-air with his second touch. The ball went past goalkeeper Filippo Dadone in the far-left corner.
“It’s got to be on ESPN’s Top 10,” Nuttall said. “Brilliant goal.”
Hofstra outranked Vermont 13-6 in shots and 5-3 in shots-on-goal, however, the Catamounts persevered with four saves from Herceg and a defensive stand that included a goal-line clearance from forward Max Murray. Nuttall only brought on two substitutes in the second half who combined for 20 minutes.
“If it’s not broken, don’t fix it,” Nuttall said. “We’ve got some great subs, but if you’re doing well on the field and you’ve got the momentum … just keep going with it. We created chance after chance.”
The defeat marks the end of the latest chapter for the Pride, who came off their fourth consecutive conference title and highest ranking in NCAA history.
“I think the big thing is to say how proud we are of the seniors who are graduating and how proud we are of the whole team,” Nuttall said. “Just commend them on what they’ve done; we’ve been fantastic this season.”
Carles and Infuso both saw their collegiate careers come to an end, totaling for a combined appearances in their five seasons for the program.
“I just want to say that I’m really proud of these four years here,” Carles said. “I’ve enjoyed it a lot, and I’m just proud of everyone. I know with the days I will look at it with some perspective, and I will be really happy about it, even though today I’m angry, so it’s difficult to talk and express myself properly.”
Vermont will go on to host the University of San Diego in the third round of the tournament.
Photos courtesy of Ethan Albin and Amelia Bashy
