By Jeffrey Werner – STAFF WRITER 17th-ranked Hofstra Pride men’s soccer traveled to Washington D.C. on Friday to take on the 21st-ranked American University Eagles. Both teams were undefeated coming into the game. The Pride was not only handed their first loss, but the team was shutout 2-0.
Coming into the game, the Pride started 4-0 after their matchup against St. John’s. Patrick Pray collected his 14th career shutout, making him the third best in Hofstra history in shutout performances.
Unfortunately, Pray couldn’t keep the Eagles off the board early. Joel Hart shot the ball past Pray in the seventh minute to break Hofstra’s streak of shutting out opponents at almost 296 minutes.
Hofstra’s offense also didn’t live up to expectations after eight shots on goal failed to produce. The Pride also struggled to keep the offsides and fouls to a minimum. The Pride accumulated four fouls and three offsides in the first half.
In fact, Rory Murphy was given a yellow card at the 31st minute. This wasn't the only yellow card issued in the first half as the Eagles’ Dale Ludwig received one four minutes prior. The yellow card Murphy received wasn’t the only warning the Pride would see in the game. At the 89th minute of the game, Pray received a yellow card.
The second half saw American University take control. The Eagles shot the ball four times within the first ten minutes. Then, Hart tallied another goal under his stat line in the 56th minute as he one-timed a pass from his teammate into the top corner to push the lead to 2-0. That was one of fifteen shots the Eagles took in the second half while the Pride were limited to seven shots.
The Pride drop to 4-1 on the season while the Eagles, on the other hand, continue their undefeated season and their rise in the national rankings.