Hofstra University men’s soccer team closed out the regular season by defeating Drexel University 2-0, extending the Pride’s winning streak to eight games at Captains Field on Saturday, Nov. 1. The four-time reigning Coastal Athletic Association (CAA) champions finished the regular season 12-4 overall and 7-1 in conference play.

“We were rock solid … we hadn’t scored as many as we would have liked, but we’ve done well,” said Hofstra head coach Richard Nuttall. “It was a real great workman-like performance and we’re happy with the job the boys have done today.”

The Pride dominated from the start with relentless pressing and physical play, which Drexel struggled to keep up with. Eighteen minutes into gameplay, Hofstra capitalized on that dominance off a cross from Stefano Campisi, which found the head of Daniel Burko inside the six-yard box. It was the 10th goal of the season for the Norwegian transfer from Syracuse University.

“[Burko] is a machine … he just works and works and works,” Nutall said. “We’re trying to get [Burko] to be a bit more technical and to combine more, but he’s doing a fantastic job.”

The game became quite chippy after that goal. Hofstra’s Thengill Orrason received a yellow card for a hard challenge on Drexel freshman Jack Shannon. There were 24 fouls throughout the game, many of which came after the challenge, which set the bar for the level of physicality. Shannon was later given a yellow card for dissent and a stern warning for a foul late in the game on Aleksei Armas. There was a total of five yellow cards in the game, one of which was given to Hofstra’s assistant coach Shaun Foster.

Depth played a big role in the matchup. Junior Aaron Basenach came off the bench and got the assist for Burko’s second goal of the game from a through-ball that split between defenders. Basenach had a strong game, winning the ball off the press on several occasions and finding players who were either making runs down the wing or on goal.

“[We have] three or four or five good players who’ve come off the bench and done a very good job for us,” Nuttall said. “[The substitutes] have played well. I think Aaron [Basenach] set the second goal up and [Pablo] Hempelmann-Perez is quality … even Caleb [Williams] at the end came in with a nice shot … they’re all good players, so I’m proud of them.”

The Pride will carry its eight-game winning streak into the playoffs, with its first opponent yet to be confirmed.

“Hopefully the guys will enjoy each other tonight, get back on the horse and work hard,” Nuttall said. “I don’t think we’ve ever had an easy CAA semifinal, so we know it’s going to be tough … Monmouth and Stony Brook are both very good teams, so let’s see what we’ve got.”

Hofstra will face off against the winner of that matchup on Sunday, Nov. 9, at Captains Field. Kick-off is set for 2 p.m.

Contributed by 

Holden Willemsen

Soccer Long Island Magazine

Hofstra Chronicle

WRHU 88.7FM

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