Men's soccer falls to Columbia in regular season finale
Hofstra men’s soccer fell 4-0 in their regular season finale to Columbia University on Tuesday, Oct. 30, to finish their regular season. The Pride’s focus now shifts to the Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) Championship, where they enter the tournament as the No. 3 seed.
Coming into the game, Hofstra hadn’t lost a game since Saturday, Oct. 13; however, Columbia simply overpowered them in all factors of the game.
The Pride couldn’t get anything going against Columbia’s defense. Hofstra was only able to land four shots on goal.
Hofstra didn’t have enough firepower offensively to win the game. They fell 4-0 on the road on to a very tough Columbia team, who now rise to 9-4-1. The Pride fall to 8-6-4.
Sam Hatem opened scoring for the Lions with a goal just under three minutes into the match. This would be more than enough to help Columbia cruise to a victory.
Hatem netted another goal past Hofstra goalie Leo Arkhanhelskyi, which put Hofstra in a 2-0 hole 26 minutes into the contest. Arkhanhelskyi made four saves for the Pride despite allowing four goals.
Lucho Gazcon put another in the back of the net off a pass from Beto Carrillo to add to the first half damage.
The Lions weren’t done yet. With seven minutes to play, Spiros Stamoulis topped things off with the fourth and final goal off a pass from Nick Marcin.
Hofstra sophomore Felix Smith Halle led the Pride with three shots on goal. Etienne Botty also contributed a shot on goal.
Finishing shots and trouble finding opportunities to score were both flaws for Hofstra. They had difficulty putting pressure on Columbia’s defense.
Columbia keeper Dylan Castanheira made four saves for the Lions.
Looking ahead, Hofstra is set to take on the No. 6 seed Northeastern University Huskies. The Pride was shutout in their last matchup against the Huskies on Oct. 10, when they lost 3-0. The Pride will look to get their revenge and advance in the CAA bracket. Kickoff is set for Saturday, Nov. 3, at 7 p.m.
Photo courtesy of Hofstra Athletics
