By Max Sass, Sports Editor
Hofstra men's soccer's improbable improvement from eleventh place to third place in the Colonial Athletic Association earned the Pride a spot in the CAA Tournament against no. 2 Virginia Commonwealth. The Pride had previously drawn 0-0 with VCU this season.
Both teams would find the scoreboard this time and it took all 90 minutes to determine a winner.
The teams went into half time scoreless. "We played very well in the first half," Hofstra head coach Richard Nuttall said. "I thought we were the slightly better team."
The two teams continued to battle with no result until VCU found a header for a goal in the seventy-seventh minute. The Pride's season was down to its last 13 minutes and things seemed bleak. Just after VCU scored, freshman centerback Shaun Foster, who was named CAA Freshman and Defender of the Year, was sent off with a red card for a dangerous tackle.
With only ten men and just minutes remaining before the Pride's season would be over, Nuttall shifted around his lineup, moving five men to the midfield.
"You hope and believe in your guys but you worry because you're down to 10 men and you have a very young side," Nuttall said.
Nuttall's youthful side came through, as freshman defender Tyler Botte, pushed up to an offensive position, scored with less than five minutes remaining.
The two teams seemed destined for overtime before senior forward Johannes Grahn made a run with just seconds on the clock. Grahn was fouled in the VCU box, drawing a penalty shot with just five seconds left.
"He did a great job in the last few seconds," Nuttall said of Grahn, "[but] I want to emphasize that the effort from the [whole] team was tremendous."
Grahn hit the penalty shot, sending the Pride to a 2-1 victory and into the CAA Championship game.
"I was overjoyed as was all the coaching staff and players," Nuttall said. "It was fantastic."
The last second victory over VCU set up a rematch with CAA top seed William & Mary. The Pride had previously finished in a scoreless draw with William & Mary in the regular season.
The Pride was playing without Foster, who was suspended for his red card in the previous game. "We were a bit worried because we lost Foster but we played ODU [Old Dominion] without Foster and did a very good job," Nuttall said.
The Pride defense remained stout for 67 minutes before William & Mary scored on a free kick. The Pride was forced to push players up to try to find an equalizer and was caught on the counter attack. Sophomore midfielder Stephan Barea was sent off with a red card with 19 minutes left.
William & Mary found a second goal with 13 minutes left, essentially ending the Pride's season.
"I think what we did then," Nuttall said, "we lost our composure to be honest."
William & Mary added two more goals in the final minutes to end Hofstra's season with a 4-0 loss.
"I would say we were down and up and it was a learning process," Nuttall said of the season. The Pride finished the season 8-7-5.