By Mike Rudin -- SPORTS EDITOR The Colonial Athletic Association for 2015 men’s soccer has flourished with two conference teams that reached the top 25 National Soccer Coaches Association of America rankings.
Elon University holds the highest spot in its conference, ranked No. 13 in the country, while Hofstra jumped right behind them at No. 14, according to the updated NSCAA poll.
The CAA has been full of surprises since the preseason polls and how the rest of the season will play out is still up in the air. But for right now, the Hofstra Pride is king of the hill.
Hofstra
Hofstra has been riding success the entire 2015 season. First, being nationally ranked at No. 17 on Sept. 8 with a 4-0 start. Then, the Pride upset University of North Carolina Wilmington 2-1 to start conference play on the right foot.
Followed up with three straight conference wins to go undefeated in the CAA and put themselves in first place.
In the midst of their recent success, the Pride jumped in the polls to one spot behind Elon – the one conference team they’ve always trailed in rankings. Yet in the NCAA RPI rankings, Hofstra is now ranked No. 14 as the best team in the conference while Elon is ranked No. 18.
The key to Hofstra’s success has been their goalie, Patric Pray, as well as the offense coming up in clutch moments. Pray has started all 12 games and holds a 9-3 record. He’s given up just 12 goals all season long. Pray has five shutouts to his name and he’s made 53 saves resulting in a .815 save percentage in approximately 1,128 minutes defending the net.
Pray has kept Hofstra in contention with seven of the 12 games resulting in one-goal differences. He’s laid the foundation for the team’s success but the combo of Meshack Eshun Addy and Joseph Holland propelled Hofstra’s triumphs.
Eshun Addy leads the Pride team with six goals while Holland’s contributed five – their combined 11 goals are half of all the goals scored by Hofstra so far.
Although what’s more impressive is that any given Pride player has risen to the occasion. Mani Walcott and Harri Hawkins both been superb complimentary players, each with two occasions of scoring the game-winner. The last one was from Hawkins who punched in the win against Delaware in double OT.
Hofstra was ranked third in the CAA preseason polls behind Delaware and UNCW, but Hofstra has debunked those predictions so far. Plus, the Pride now has one of the easiest remaining conference schedules left when compared to the rest of the CAA. Hofstra has four CAA matchups left.
Remaining opponents Northeastern and James Madison are teams currently sitting under .500 and Charleston has gotten success off intermediate to weaker teams in the conference. The hardest remaining match will be against No. 13 Elon.
Elon
The Elon Phoenix have had an extraordinary season in 2015: 10-2 overall, the highest ranking nationally within the CAA at No. 13 according to the NCSAA poll and starting out 7-0 while opening conference play with a 3-1 record.
Elon transformed from being the team last year that finished fourth-place in conference and was eliminated in the CAA quarterfinals, into the best team in the conference as well as being nationally-ranked.
Their success is because of their goalkeeper, Matthew Jegier. Jegier has posted a 10-2 record with seven shutouts in 12 games. He’s allowed 11 goals in total while protecting the net and he’s compiled 36 saves and a .766 save percentage.
Matthew Jegier has also kept his team in contention with five games that ended in a one-goal difference.
Elon’s offense has been diverse and balanced in 2015. The Phoenix team has five quality players that can take turns offensively producing.
Both Eduardo Alvarez and James Brace lead the team with four goals apiece while Jaiden Fortune, Cooper Vandermaas-Peeler and Caue Da Silva each tallied three.
Elon’s passing skills are also well-balanced with 13 assists compiled between the five Phoenix players – Fortune compiled four assists while Brace and Vandermaas-Peeler each have three, Da Silva put up two and Alvarez with one.
On paper, this is Hofstra’s biggest threat within the CAA conference, but Elon has had their slipups this season. The biggest blunder was their 4-1 lost to William & Mary and they’ve gone 3-2 in their last five games since their 7-0 start.
In order to take first place, Elon needs to tighten up on execution and it primarily starts with Jegier. The two games Elon’s lost, he gave up three or more goals. In order for Elon to go on another huge winning streak, Jegier needs to be the leader of it.
Elon’s remaining conference schedule doesn’t play in their favor.
The Phoenix play UNCW and James Madison before meeting Hofstra in Hempstead. They cap off their season at home against College of Charleston.
James Madison and College of Charleston are in the middle of the CAA pack, but shouldn’t be considered easy wins. The UNCW Seahawks and the No. 14 Hofstra Pride will be their toughest competitors.
UNCW
At one point, three CAA teams were ranked in the NSCAA top 25 poll this year, University of North Carolina Wilmington joining Hofstra and Elon. The UNCW Seahawks were ranked No. 24, but fell out of the most recent NSCAA poll.
The Seahawks sit at third place of the CAA standings with a 2-1-1 conference record and 7-2-2 record overall.
They’re a team that has almost met expectations from the preseason polls, predicted to take second place since they have six returning starters.
The Seahawks’ offensive production is split between certain players of the scoring unit.
Colin Bonner leads the team with seven goals, while Ben Fisher is second-in-command with six on the year. Then Daniel Escobar has collected four goals and Nathaniel Goodwin tallied three.
UNCW also works well together with five assists by Bonner, four by Jose Garcia and three apiece by Fisher and Goodwin.
Their defense overall is an usually tight unit, allowing only 98 shots in total while opponents’ goalkeepers have faced 113 in 11 matches.
Sean Melvin is UNCW’s main goalie who’s allowed 10 goals in the first 11 games. He’s made 25 saves and posted five shutouts – one shutout in dual efforts with Sam Williams.
UNCW’s remaining conference games range from intermediate to hard matchups. The Seahawks have yet to face Elon, William & Mary, Delaware and the College of Charleston.
Their harder matchups are against No. 13 Elon and University of Delaware.
Delaware
A team once picked to take first place in the conference during the preseason polls, Delaware has failed to live up to that expectation sitting at the sixth place.
On paper, Delaware is a 4-6-2 team that has gotten off to a rocky start in conference, starting 1-2. The Fightin’ Blue Hens struggled with heading to overtime on four occasions and either losing the game or tying.
The Fightin’ Blue Hens are still a team not to be overlooked as they competed well against Elon, losing by one goal, and losing in double-overtime against Hofstra.
Delaware faces Drexel at home on Oct. 14, then versus Northeastern in Boston on Oct. 17, followed by two straight home games against UNCW on Oct. 25 and James Madison on Oct. 28 plus an away game playing William & Mary on Oct. 31.
The first two games are bit of a relief with 2-10-1 Drexel and 1-7-2 Northeastern are at the bottom of the CAA barrel. Then things get tougher in the remaining three.
James Madison
The former CAA champions from 2014 are not in the same place as they were last year. The James Madison Dukes sit in the middle of the CAA pack at fifth place with a 2-6-4 record.
They been very sporadic in 2015, their lowest point was losing to Drexel 1-0 and getting an ugly win against Northeastern in double-overtime. The 3-2 win against Northeastern has been the only win in conference. But their high point is tying against UNCW in a scoreless match.
JMU has four conference games left: Facing William & Mary, Elon, Delaware and Hofstra.
The Dukes are in for a rough time for the rest of their conference schedule.
William & Mary/College of Charleston
William & Mary and College of Charleston are both two teams to describe as the wild cards in the CAA. They’re not sure bets of the conference but they’ve made a couple of upsets here and there.
Such as William & Mary toppling Elon earlier in the season by a score of 4-1. Plus, their best non-conference moment was against No. 4 North Carolina and they ended in a tie. The Tribe place seventh with a 4-5-2 record, 1-3 in conference play.
Even though the record doesn’t show, William & Mary is ranked third in the CAA at No. 23 over UNCW, according to NCCA RPI rankings. So they're a team to keep an eye on by throughout the season.
Their remaining schedule consists of: Northeastern, James Madison, UNCW, Drexel and Delaware. Their conference overall is intermediate but if William & Mary proved they can make some unexpected wins. If all goes well, the Tribe can get back at .500 in conference or higher.
The Charleston Cougars capitalized off winning against the lower teams in the CAA as well as competing with the intermediate teams.
Charleston was picked last in the preseason polls but they hold a fourth place spot right now. To be fair, the positives of their 2-1-1 record came off of two wins from Drexel and William & Mary plus the Cougars tied with JMU.
The Cougars have four conference games left: Hofstra, Northeastern, UNCW and Elon. No matter how you look at it, Charleston’s record should dip. The Cougars would be lucky to take anything more than one win in the last four, having to face the top three CAA teams.
Northeastern/Drexel
Then Northeastern sits near the bottom with a 1-7-2 overall, 1-3 start in conference while Drexel dwells as the last-place CAA team currently with a 1-4 conference record and 2-10-1 overall.
The best moment for Northeastern was their 2-1 win over the William & Mary Tribe. Drexel’s only conference win came against James Madison.
Northeastern Huskies have four conference games left: Hofstra, Delaware, College of Charleston and Drexel. All in all, Northeastern needs flip their luck from losing close games if they want to avoid being the one of the two CAA punching bags.
Drexel has three CAA games remaining: UNCW, Delaware and Northeastern. Overall, a win against Northeastern is their best bet in conference.