Explosive second half puts Pride past Lipscomb in NCAA First Round

With the bleachers at Hofstra Soccer Stadium packed with 987 strong, and in their first appearance in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Tournament since 2015, the Hofstra men’s soccer team carried out a come-from-behind victory over Lipscomb University, 4-2, on Thursday, Nov. 18. 

With a 16-1-2 record and riding a 15-game unbeaten streak, Hofstra qualified for the national tournament as the Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) champions. Their first test: the champions of the ASUN Conference, the Lipscomb Bisons. Although Lipscomb was relatively unheard of across Hofstra’s campus before the match, they possessed much more experience in the national tournament as of late. In 2018, the small school from Nashville, Tennessee made a magical run to the Sweet 16, upsetting both No. 25 Washington University and No. 9 University of Central Florida on the road, before falling to the No. 3 University of Kentucky in the third round. 

Back in the tournament once again, it looked like the Bisons were going to stampede over the Pride following goals from junior and graduate forwards Hayes Wood and Bakary Bagayoko in the first half. Hofstra’s Pierce Infuso scored a beautiful diving header off a Strom Strongin free kick from way outside the goal box, but the score remained 2-1 in favor of Lipscomb entering halftime. 

“They were a major challenge for us,” said Hofstra head coach Richard Nuttall. “I thought that they were the better team in the first half.”

In an all too familiar setting, Hofstra was well prepared to make a second-half resurgence like they had in the CAA title game. 

The onslaught began and ended with graduate forward Matthew Vowinkel. In the 49th minute, Vowinkel and Hendrik Hebbeker played a game of pass with one another while Lipscomb defenders struggled to keep up. Hebbeker, finding space inside the goal box, fired a shot off his left foot into the bottom corner of the net to even the score at 2-2. Minutes later, Vowinkel connected with his other running mate up front, Ryan Carmichael, who raced up the sideline and put the ball past Bisons’ keeper Michael Sibley to give Hofstra a 3-2 lead. Finally, in the 53rd minute, Vowinkel opted to shoot rather than pass and scored the Pride’s third goal of the half. 

“I think it was just us winning the battle and continuing to fight after halftime,” Vowinkel said following his 4-point performance. “We did an excellent job at midfield, and an excellent job at the backline winning every single fifty-fifty ball. That just pushed all of us ahead to score those three goals.” 

“I don’t think, in my time, I’ve seen three goals as good in such a short period and in such a big game,” Richard Nuttall said. 

As exciting as the victory was, there is cause for concern as Hofstra advances to second round. Following his goal earlier on, Carmichael needed help to the sideline midway through the second half and did not return to action after suffering a sprained ankle, leaving his status in question for Hofstra’s game in the second round. 

In that game, the Pride will travel to take on twelfth seeded Pennsylvania State University on Sunday, Nov. 21, at 5 p.m.  After seeing what Hofstra was capable of with his own eyes, Lipscomb head coach Charles Morrow believes the Pride have it takes to go on a magical run of their own. 

“[Hofstra is] very simplistic in what they do, but they are excellent at it,” Morrow said. “Of course, they can beat Penn State.”

The 987 fans in attendance at Hofstra Soccer Stadium on Thursday night believed so too, filling the air with a message to their opponents that they’re ready and eager for the battle. 

“We want Penn State.”

Photo courtesy of Adam Flash/The Hofstra Chronicle