By Chris Detwiler -- STAFF WRITER In front of 759 roaring Hofstra fans, the men’s soccer team drew to a 1-1 tie with Long Island rival Stony Brook University on Saturday night in their 2017 home opener. Hofstra is now 1-2-2 this year and the Seawolves now hold a 3-1-1 record.
After a scoreless first half, Luke Brown found the back of the net for his first goal of this young season giving the Pride a 1-0 lead about three minutes into the second half. This was Hofstra’s first goal after being shut out for three consecutive games.
The Pride held onto the slim lead until the 70th minute when Stony Brook tied the game on a penalty shot. Hofstra got a few good looks at the net towards the end of regulation and at the beginning of overtime, but they couldn’t muster up a goal. The Pride had nine shots on goal to Stony Brook’s three.
Although Hofstra could not cash in on those scoring opportunities, head coach Richard Nuttall was happy his team was able to get those chances to score.
“When you create chances, you’re not as worried as when you don’t create chances,” Coach Nuttall said. “So, the good news is we created a few good chances, the bad news is we didn’t take one or two of them, but … I’d be more worried if we weren’t having the shots on goal.”
Hofstra played two very aggressive overtime periods outshooting Stony Brook by a 5-1 margin in the extra frames. As the clock wound down in the second overtime period, Stony Brook players began to celebrate as if they had won the game, some even taunting the supportive Hofstra crowd, which indicates that the Seawolves took more of a defensive approach to overtime. Stony Brook seemingly wanted to keep the score tied rather than take the lead.
The Pride had two corner kicks in overtime, but Stony Brook’s tough defense kept the ball from crossing the line into the net. The Seawolves’ defensive tactic worked as neither team scored in the two overtime periods.
“We call it the battle of Long Island and I think it was the battle of Long Island,” Nuttall said. “[It was a] fast paced, exciting game … and hopefully the fans enjoyed it.”
Hofstra will next travel to Connecticut to face the University of Connecticut on Tuesday, Sept. 12 at 7 p.m. in the Pride’s final game before CAA play.