By Sean Williams (Staff Writer)
The Hofstra men’s soccer teams defense stifled the Delaware Blue Hens, and a variety of offensive contributors helped the Pride in overcoming Delaware on Sunday by a score of 3-0 at the Delaware Mini-Stadium. The 10 wins for the season are the first for Nuttall and the Pride since the 2006 season, and pushes Hofstra’s record to 10-4-1, and 4-3 in the Colonial Athletic Association (CAA), while the loss moves Delaware to 3-9-4 and 1-3-3 in the CAA. Hofstra only put up six shots, but substituted quantity for efficiency, as three of those shots found the back of the net. Senior forward Mike Annarumma scored the goal in the 12th minute, and while that would prove to be all the Pride needed, sophomore forward Maid Memic and freshman forward Joseph Holland contributed with second half goals. Hofstra head coach Richard Nuttall said that Annarumma “may have had one of the best games of his career” and admired his effort after his scoring effort. “He worked well the rest of the game, especially defensively,” he added. Memic leads the team with seven goals. The Pride defense was exceptional yet again, as they helped senior goalkeeper Adam Janowski obtain his third shutout in the last four games. Nuttall described Janowski’s play as “excellent.” Juniors defender Shaun Foster and defender Tyler Botte, as well as senior defender A.J. Laza played key roles in the victory, as they bolstered a defense that has not allowed a regulation goal in the last 391 minutes of play. Nuttall praised Foster in particular saying, “Shaun Foster is Shaun Foster, and the best defender in the league, in my opinion.” It would appear that Nuttall is not alone in that sentiment, as Foster has raked in numerous accolades and awards, including back-to-back CAA Defensive Player of the Year honors. The win was a helpful one for the Pride, since the team was coming off of a bitter double-overtime loss against Northeastern. Hofstra will host conference opponent Old Dominion on Saturday at the Hofstra Soccer Stadium.