The Hofstra Pride men’s soccer team suffered their first conference loss of the season Saturday at the hands of the University of North Carolina Wilmington, 3-1. It took just ten minutes for UNCW to get onto the scoreboard. Kalvin Kromer received a cross from his teammate and one-timed the ball past Alex Ashton to put the Seahawks up 1-0.
Ten minutes later, UCNW extended its lead. Julio Moncada set himself up as an outlet in case his teammate did not see an opportunity to score. The ball was passed to Moncada and he shot it into the goal. UNCW went into halftime outscoring Hofstra 2-0 and outshooting them 3-2.
Realizing the game was getting away from his team, freshman Luke Brown took it upon himself to bring the Pride within striking distance. After the Seahawks had trouble controlling possession, Brown picked up the loose ball and fired it into the net. The goal was Brown’s team-leading sixth tally on the season, and brought the Pride only one goal short of UNCW.
Brown’s goal was as close as Hofstra got to UNCW’s lead. Moncada continued his success on offense when he placed himself in the center of the box. His teammate passed the ball to Moncada, and Moncada shot it into the back of the goal, sealing the victory for the Seahawks with the second goal of the game.
Hofstra was outshot 9-7, with just three shots on target. Luke Brown and Joseph Holland each posted two shots for the match for Hofstra, while Julio Moncada and Kalvin Kromer compiled two shots each for the Seahawks.
With the loss, the Pride drops to 6-1 in conference play and 8-5-1 overall. Hofstra travels to College Park, Maryland next Friday to take on the top-ranked Maryland Terrapins.