Woznicki’s brace secures win over Providence

The Hofstra University men’s soccer team defeated the Providence College Friars, 2-0, at Hofstra Soccer Stadium on Thursday, Aug. 29. It was the Pride’s second consecutive win and first at home as they improve to 2-0-1.

“Absolute quality win against a very good team,” said Hofstra head coach Richard Nuttall. “One of the best passing teams we’ve played against in a long time. We’ve got quality all over the field and I’m incredibly proud.”

Striker Jacob Woznicki scored both goals for Hofstra as he led his side to victory. His first goal came 28 minutes in as Roc Carles kicked a long ball into the box. Woznicki directed it into the left corner of the net in between two Providence defenders.

The graduate student completed his brace with a solo goal with 11 minutes remaining in the match. He rounded Providence goalkeeper Lukas Burns, evaded two opposing defenders and slotted in the second Pride goal to ensure victory. This two-goal performance is Woznicki’s second in a row for Hofstra.

“[Woznicki] is a fit beast, he works hard,” Nuttall said. “His technical skills are good, [but] they need to be a lot better. He’s an honest human being and gives everything he can to the game each and every time.”

The reigning Coastal Athletic Association (CAA) champions clinched their second shutout in their first three games of the season. Pride goalkeeper Filippo Dadone made two saves in the second half, denying Providence midfielder Diego Batista both times. Hofstra’s Pierce Infuso, CAA Preseason Player of the Year, made a block inside the box to deny defender Bernardo Prego’s long-distance effort after playing for nearly 66 minutes.

“I thought [Infuso] was fantastic,” Nuttall said. “Jack O’Malley did a great job, Gabriel [Pacheco] did a great job after the first five minutes…and Mylo [Hall] as well. Everybody we played at the back did a good job.”

Hofstra dropped outside the top 25 of the United Soccer Coaches rankings earlier this week but responded with a wire-to-wire victory. They had twice as many shots on goal as their opponents despite producing five fewer total shots and having two fewer corners.

“To be brutally honest, we don’t really look at the rankings,” Nuttall said. “It’s all about the next game, and that’s rather cliché, I know, but we’ve just got to worry about the next game. This is a new group.”

The starting lineup against Providence featured new signings in the front and midfield. Woznicki, Laurie Goddard and Aleksei Armas have all started in the Pride’s first three games while Hall received his first start of the season on Thursday.

“You’ve got to say it’s a decent start,” Nuttall said, “but we’ve got so many standards that we want to set for this team. It’s a good start, but it’s a marathon. We’ve got to keep our feet on the ground.”

Hofstra stayed home for Labor Day weekend as they faced Binghamton University on Monday, Sept. 2.

“If you look at our schedule,” Nuttall said, “every time we play, we can lose if we don’t play well. There’s going to be some joy tonight. There’s going to be some realism. We’ve got to prepare for Binghamton on Monday.”

Photo courtesy of Hofstra Athletics/Alexis Friedman