By Doug Bonjour
Coming off the most successful weekend of the season for the Hofstra men’s soccer team; a weekend which saw the Pride outscore Georgia State and University of North Carolina-Wilmington 5-0 while playing solid offense and defense, the Pride looked to continue their well-rounded play against Colonial Athletic Conference foes James Madison and Virginia Commonwealth. Yet there was one problem that existed for the Pride: They would have to travel to battle their conference counterparts.
Heading into the past weekend, playing on the road had meant disaster for the Pride. In the six games away from Hofstra Soccer Stadium, Hofstra had an 0-5-1 record, with the only point coming in a 1-1 tie against 7-5-2 Oakland, whose biggest win to date came against a .500 Rutgers team.
The Pride knew that their games against James Madison and Virginia Commonwealth were crucial to their status heading into the season’s final stretch, as Senior midfielder Ray Hassett said, “if we come away with two good wins, we’re in a good place in the league,” following the team’s last victory.
Yet even with the momentum gained from an undefeated homestand, Hofstra was once again unable to earn points on the road, losing 2-1 in overtime to James Madison and 5-1 to Virginia Commonwealth.
The loss to James Madison began Hofstra’s rough weekend; a game in which Nuttall believes his team could have been victorious in.
“We played quite well. It was one of those games that could have gone any way. We did what we had to do during regulation; they could have won it, we could have won it,” said Hofstra Head Coach Richard Nuttall following his team’s loss.
James Madison struck on the scoreboard first, as Junior midfielder Nick Zimmerman scored just 10 minutes into the first half off a blast from 10 yards out. The goal put the Pride behind 1-0 and the score would stay that way until the second half, when Hofstra’s lethal striker found a way to even the game.
Following a tripping penalty in the James Madison box just 15 seconds into the second half, Freshman forward Johannes Grahn scored on a penalty kick, tying the game 1-1. The goal was Grahn’s ninth on the year, extending his team-leading total and giving him the lead in the CAA.
Unfortunately for the Pride, Grahn was unable to extend his total any further, as James Madison Freshman forward C.J. Sapong scored just 3:48 into overtime, giving James Madison a 2-1 win and sending the Pride further down the CAA standings with a 3-7-2 (2-3) record. Sapong’s goal came off a shot from 18 yards out, beating Hofstra Senior goaltender Tom Johansen in the upper right corner of the net.
Following the loss, a disappointed Nuttall said, “We made four elemental mistakes in a row that cost us a goal. It’s our fault really.” Nuttall cited such mistakes as being poor ball challenges.
Hoping to rebound from the defeat, Hofstra suffered their worst loss of the season on Sunday. The Pride fell 5-1 to Virginia Commonwealth, in what Nuttall called an “overall poor team performance.”
The Pride again found themselves trailing 1-0 early, as Junior defenseman Gerson Dos Santos gathered a pass 10 yards outside the net and shot it past Hofstra Freshman goaltender Mike Arnold into the left corner of the net. The goal came just 7:21 into the first half, but was quickly matched by Hofstra.
In what would be the lone highlight of the game for the Pride, Senior midfielder Chris Cox, received a pass from Hassett and booted the ball into the bottom right corner of the net.
Although there was not much to be happy about for Hofstra, Nuttall came away pleased with Cox’s performance.
“He played well, he worked hard and he’s getting where he needs to be. He did a great job,” he said.
Unfortunately for Hofstra, Virginia Commonwealth had no trouble finding the back of the net, as Arnold had allowed five goals just 62 minutes into the game.
In terms of Arnold’s play, Nuttall said that his goaltender “could have played a little better in the shot-stopping category. He didn’t play badly, he played ok,” he said.
Following the loss, Nuttall described the mood in the locker room as “pretty down,” but cited the fact that Hofstra still has a chance to reach its goal of earning a conference playoff bid.
As for the remaining five games, Nuttall said “we’re just going to take it game by game and we’ve got to not get our heads down.”
Hofstra will next be in action on Friday, when they travel to Pennslyvania to play the CAA’s top team, Drexel, 9-2-2 (6-0).