On Oct. 7, Monmouth University’s Men’s Soccer hit the road to face No. 16 Hofstra in a back-and-forth battle that lasted until Hofstra pulled ahead and won 1-0.
In the first half, both teams had their chances on goal, but Eryk Dymora, Monmouth’s goalie, and Weesel Speel, Hofstra’s goalie, both made a save each to keep the score tied 0-0. Not only did Dymora play a big role on the defensive end, but so did the entire Monmouth defensive line made up of Gabe Dahlin, Olle Brorsson, Bastian Hatcher, and Griffin Tomas. Each of them contributed to holding Hofstra and interrupting their play. The Hawk’s defense has been strong all season. This matchup was the tenth time in 11 games that he Hawks held their opponent to one goal or less and we saw just that in todays game. Going into the half, the score was still 0-0. In the second half, Monmouth’s offense applied pressure to Hofstra when they had several opportunities; one from junior Kevin Zapata specifically caused a stop from Hofstra goalie.
The Hawks continued to apply the pressure when they got two more shots from Zapata and freshman Arturro McConnochie. These shots were only 14 seconds apart, but unfortunately could not get past Speel to get Monmouth on the board. In the 79th minute, Dymora had another big stop on a Hofstra shot, but that did not stop Hofstra from running the ball up the side and getting it past Dymora with 4:23 remaining in the game. In the final four minutes, the Hawks got off two more shots but were unable to pull away with the win.
Monmouth Men’s Soccer Head Coach, Robert McCourt, said in a statement published on the Monmouth Athletics website, “We are disappointed not to get at least a point tonight. Hofstra is a top 20 team and is a tough place to play but we played well. The boys will remain focused and move forward from tonight’s experience.” Despite the loss, Erik Reis and Kevin Zapata led the Hawks in shots, with two shots each and Zapata putting both on goal. With three CAA games remaining in the 2023 season, Monmouth stands fourth in the CAA standings, as they hope to keep that standing and make it into the CAA Tournament.
The Hawks face Northeastern on Oct. 14 at home. Monmouth has met up with Northeastern once before on the road and won 1-0. Therefore, this game will be a test for both Northeastern and Monmouth.
