Preview: Hofstra men's soccer meets Elon once again for CAA Title

The Hofstra Pride men’s soccer team will play for their second consecutive Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) title on Saturday, Nov. 12, when they travel to face the Elon University Phoenix. These two teams will match up in the championship game for the second straight year after the Pride defeated Elon 3-2 in last year’s title game on home turf.

Saturday’s match will be the tenth between the two schools, with the Pride holding a 7-1-1 record against Elon. Their lone meeting this season saw the Pride drop a home fixture to the Phoenix 3-1 for their most recent loss. Since then, Hofstra has caught fire with a six-match unbeaten streak where the Pride has outscored its opponents 15-4.

The Hofstra attack will be led by forwards Eliot Goldthorp, and newly crowned CAA player of the year Ryan Carmichael.  Goldthorp has taken college soccer by storm in his sophomore season and is currently leading the nation with 15 goals.

 Elon’s leading scorer is senior midfielder Mason Duval, who tallied a career-best seven goals this season.  Phoenix goalkeeper Ryan Bilichuk made history in his last match, setting the school record for most shutouts in a season with his eleventh clean sheet. Elon has shut out the opposition in over half of their games, as their defensive style has dominated CAA opponents this season.

After claiming the tournament’s top seed and receiving a first-round bye, Elon defeated the Drexel University Dragons 1-0 in the semifinal round to advance to the championship game. Junior midfielder Ben Rosenblatt scored the game’s lone goal on a header in the first half, and Bilichuk tallied two saves in the win.

Hofstra’s journey to the title game was a bit more arduous, as the Pride received the third seed, placing them into the quarterfinals, where they defeated the College of William & Mary Tribe on the back of a goal by Carmichael in extra time. Hofstra then moved on to face the UNC-Wilmington Seahawks in the semifinal round, where Goldthorp and Marcelo Lage both tallied goals in a 2-1 win.

Hofstra entered the season as the consensus favorite to win the conference after being tabbed as the top team in the CAA by all nine opposing programs. However, this time around, the Pride will be the underdogs, bearing the lower seed and playing on the road. The game is set to kick off in Elon, NC, at noon.

Photo Courtesy of Evan Bernstein/Hofstra Athletics