By Nick Bond

For all the flashes of brilliance against teams such as Virginia Tech and No.2 Southern Methodist University, the Men’s soccer team finds itself very much in the dark after beginning CAA play with only one point to show for their efforts in their first three games.

Losses at VCU and Northeastern following a draw against GSU here in Hempstead put the men in second-to-last-place in their conference.

Things seemed to be going well for the Pride in their CAA home opener, as they were able to sprint out to a 1-0 lead only four and a half minutes into the game. The team was able to keep the lead through the first half, holding the Panthers to only four shots on goal.

Things took a turn for the worst, however, as the Panthers scored 10 minutes into the second half. The Pride seemed to finally gain control of the game eight minutes later as Steven Ehrichs scored his second goal of the season, but the hopes of the teams were quickly dashed as Stephan Minyono scored his fifth goal of the season for the Panthers, tying the game for good despite two overtime periods.

Although not the worst thing to happen this season, the game seems to have an effect on the team as they struggled to get anything going against their next opponent, second place VCU. Outshot 8-2 in the first half and 18-9 for the game, the Pride found itself simply unable to protect the back of the net against the deluge of shots by the Rams.

The onslaught began midway through the first half as VCU striker Forsan Asad-Radwan scored two goals in quick succession, the first coming 22:54 into the game after solid ball movement between himself, defender Mirwies Zahelzi and midfielder Joey Lyonnais. This goal was soon followed by the second on for Asad-Radwan, this one coupled with assists from C.J. Gehin-Scott and Owusu Sekyere. VCU would continue their reign of terror in the second half, scoring once again on 10 shots, with the goal coming 15 minutes into the second half, scored by Michael Denkewitz, his first goal of the season.

Hofstra’s troubles would continue in their second straight road game, this time against conference leader, Northeastern University. It was not, however, because of an inability to take shots – a problem that has been haunting them for most of the season – but rather an inability to make them. Despite putting their boots to the ball seven times, they were unable to make the mesh shake in the back of the net on any of the attempts. Luckily for the Pride, the Huskies were unable to make anything happen with their first five shots either. Unluckily for the Pride, the Huskies were able to right the ship in the second half, drill two balls in the back of the net on five shots in the second half. This, coupled with a 5-0 edge in corner kicks in the half, was simply too much for the Pride to overcome against a superlatively talented team.

These three games leave major questions for the Pride as the stumbles into their next two games, the first against the Delaware Fighting Blue Hens in a home game for the Pride, followed by a quasi-home game against the Drexel Dragons-as a result of the upcoming presidential debate Hofstra will be playing at nearby Adelphi University at 7 p.m. on Saturday-as the Pride hopes to finally put a one in the win column.