By Doug Bonjour
As the Hofstra men’s soccer team traveled to Virginia this past weekend, the opportunity to rebound from a slow start to the season loomed large. Seven non-conference games were already in the books and the Pride stared a 1-4-2 record in the face. However, Colonial Athletic Conference play was about to begin and Hofstra looked for ways to recreate the dominance they had over their CAA foes in the past years. Dating back to the 2004 season, Hofstra has been as solid as anyone in conference play, amassing a 25-10-5 record against CAA opponents and they are one of only three schools to win a conference title in three consecutive years.
Nevertheless, as the Pride wrapped up their road trip against William and Mary (5-4-2, 2-0) and Old Dominion (5-4-1, 2-0), the game results continued to resemble the 2007 season rather than previous years. Once again, Hofstra’s inability to place the ball in the net proved to be a deciding factor, as they were defeated 1-0 by both of their Virginia counterparts.
In Friday night’s game at William and Mary, Hofstra’s ability to score was put to the test early on, as William and Mary sophomore midfielder Price Thomas put his team ahead 1-0 just 6:53 into the game. Thomas’ goal came on a shot from 12 yards out; beating Hofstra Senior goaltender Tom Johansen in the lower right corner of the net. The goal was set up by teammate Alan Koger, freshman, forward, who headed the ball to Thomas seconds after a booming punt from their own net.
Following the goal, the half continued the trend of poor play for the Pride this season, as William and Mary controlled their offense while the Pride desperately searched for scoring opportunities.
After the half, Hofstra Head Coach Richard Nuttall remained disappointed in his team’s fight.
“We came out into the game without a required desire and physical effort. We simply had a poor first half,” he said.
William and Mary pressured Hofstra throughout the half, out-shooting the Pride 8-3 and forcing Johansen to make several tough stops to keep his team in contention for a comeback.
Following Johansen’s stellar performance in which he had 10 saves, Nuttall remained delighted with his goaltender’s efforts.
“Tommy’s been great; his shot-stopping is tremendous. He’s come up big on numerous occasions,” said Nuttall.
Unfortunately for the Pride, Johansen’s solid play was not enough, as the Pride failed to put any of their eight second half shots into the net.
Nuttall acknowledged that his team “did create chances in the second half and could have had one or two goals” but also noted that William and Mary’s counter attack produced several scoring opportunities because of a more aggressive offensive push by Hofstra.
Nonetheless, the trading of scoring opportunities equaled out to a 1-0 win for William and Mary, sending Hofstra to 1-5-2 on the season and 0-1 in CAA play.
On Sunday, Hofstra traveled to CAA Preseason favorite Old Dominion; the only team chosen by league coaches to finish ahead of the Pride. In the end, the result remained the same: a 1-0 win for Hofstra’s opponent.
The lone goal again came early in the contest, as Old Dominion freshman forward T.J. Beaulieu scored 17:21 in, off a give-and-go from teammate Ollie Lutton, junior, defenseman.
Johansen again found himself standing on his head for much of the half, as he saved four shots. Hofstra, on the other hand, failed to record a shot.
Even with the lack of offense, Nuttall believes his team is playing well, but is just not setting up scoring chances.
“We’re playing well up to the final third and we’ve created possession of the ball. We’re playing good soccer, we’re just not closing out on our offensive punch,” Nuttall said.
In the final 45 minutes of play, the Hofstra offense faired better following a half in which they could not have faired any worse. The offense put two shots on net, with the best scoring opportunity coming with one minute to play, when a shot by Hofstra senior defenseman Charalambos Rossides was stopped on the Old Dominion goal line. The save preserved the win for Old Dominion, sending Hofstra further down in the CAA standings. With the loss, Hofstra is now 1-6-2 overall and 0-2 in conference play.
The Pride will next be in action when they return home to face CAA challenger Georgia State on Friday and North Carolina-Wilmington on Sunday.
Scoring has come at a premium for Ray Hassett and the Pride of late. Since scoring four goals against San Diego, Hofstra has found the net only once in its past four games. (Keith Meilink)