On Saturday, Sept. 21, the Hawks Men’s soccer team claimed their fourth win of the season with a score of 2-1 in a familiar matchup against No.12 Hofstra, after a grueling ninety minutes.
The Hawks opened the game strong, holding off any scoring from the Pride and doing so by applying pressure in both the offensive and the defensive zone. After a foul-filled first thirty minutes of play, at 33:28 on the clock, defenseman Bastian Hatcher gave Monmouth the first lead of the game when he found the back of the net following the assist from forward Victor Anderson. For the remainder of the half, the Hawks held onto the lead as goalie, Eryk Dymora, allowed nothing beyond his gloves.
Continuing Monmouth’s lead in the second half of the game, at 52:46, midfielder Sean Cadigan received the assist from defenseman Filip Ivarsson, extending the Hawks lead to 2-0 with a little over thirty-seven minutes of play left in the game. Two unsporting yellow cards were distributed on Hofstra between the time of Cadigan’s game-winning goal and Hofstra’s only goal at 89:23. Out of a total of four shots on goal, the Hawks allowed one that came from forward, Teddy Baker, with less than a minute on the clock remaining. Regardless, Monmouth beat the Pride 2-1 earning themselves redemption after last year’s 2023 CAA Championship loss.
Without Cadigan’s goal in the second half, the game could have easily been another tie for the Hawks. This was the juniors first goal of the season, as well as his seventh game of the season he ran the field for the entire ninety minutes.
Defensively, the Hawks held their own, allowing the ball very few times through the penalty area. Olle Brorsson, Gabe Dahlin, and Ivarsson, all defensemen, spent the entire ninety minutes on the field stopping as much as they could before reaching Dymora in the goalies box. As a result of the team’s strong defense, Monmouth had a total of five fouls whereas Hofstra accumulated fifteen while being challenged across the field. The Pride also obtained all four yellow cards distributed, one in the first half and the remaining three in the second.
In previous matchups between these two teams, Monmouth has unfortunately fallen short losing the last three matchups including the intense double overtime CAA championship game last year. In addition to Monmouth’s game history against the Pride and also so far this season before their loss to the Hawks, they held a season record of (6-0-1). Saturday’s game was certainly a statement. Winning a game where the odds were fairly against Monmouth means so much for a team already doing especially well this year. Not only should this be a confidence boost for the players on the field, but for the coaches and staff that make it all possible.
Currently, the team remains undefeated, following Saturday’s match having four-game wins and four ties. The past two matchups resulted in ties against Campbell and Long Island University, both on the road before returning home to host Hofstra. Now, in the CAA rankings, Monmouth rests at fourth behind Hofstra, Charleston and in first, Elon University.
The next game will be on Saturday, Sept. 28, away at the College of Charleston. The Hawks won the last time the two met. In match history, each team has two wins and two losses. The two times the Hawks won, they were home in West Long Branch. Next week, they hit the road attempting to seek their first away victory against the Charleston Cougars in program history.
