By John Grimaldi - SPECIAL TO THE CHRONICLE
Hofstra men’s soccer defeated the Delaware Blue Hens Saturday night in a tightly contested double overtime match. It was a defensive battle through and through as Hofstra delivered 15 shots, only four of which were on goal; Delaware had fewer shots, 11, with five of them being on target.
Hofstra had dropped their last two meetings against Delaware, 2-1 (2OT) and 2-1 (OT). “I think we beat a very good team,” Head Coach Richard Nuttall said after the game, “[They are] a very good offensive team, without a doubt. They’re so dangerous, they have a lot of sharp players.
The match was shaping up to be a draw when Hofstra had a late offensive surge and was able to put one in the back of the net during the second overtime period. Junior Harry Hawkins delivered the late game heroics for the Pride on a pass from junior midfielder Joseph Holland. It was Hawkins’ second goal of the season and Holland’s eighth assist of the season.
Hofstra’s defense was a brick wall against a strong Blue Hens’ offense led by 2014 NSCAA first team All-American forward Guillermo Delgado. “You’re never going to melt Delgado out of the game, you’ve got to limit him and I thought we limited him well, and the shots he did have I thought were difficult and he was under pressure on all six of them,” said Nuttall. Delgado had six of the Blue Hens 11 shots on offense, only three of which were on target. “Very pleased we kept him off the score sheet.”
Hofstra has played in back-to-back-to-back double overtime games, defeating The College of William & Mary 1-0, losing to Duke University 3-2, and now defeating Delaware 1-0. Coach Nuttall says that, overall, he is pleased with the fitness level of his squad. “We’ve won two games late, we’ve also lost one late against Duke, but we had a man down, and we were still in that game and doing very well.”
The Pride will look to hold off another double overtime game when they take on Northeastern University on Wednesday, October 14 at home. Northeastern is just 1-7 on the season, collecting their first win on Saturday, but Coach Nuttall says, “From our point of view its going to be just as difficult because they got some quality forwards and midfielders who can pass the ball.”
Hofstra currently holds the top spot in the conference, just edging out Elon University, who sits at 3-1 in conference play and 10-2 overall, they will play the Pride in what could be a very crucial game, on Oct. 24 at Hofstra Soccer Stadium.