On Oct. 25, Monmouth University hosted Hofstra at Hesse Field on The Great Lawn. With a little over 400 attendees, this match started with a back-and-forth struggle. With fouls being distributed on both sides, sophomore forward Jasen Bottini was able to get a pair of shots off, but neither saw the back of the net. With a few shots coming from Hofstra, neither team was able to secure a goal, leading to both teams heading into the half scoreless. With a red card on Monmouth, the Hawks were down a man for the entirety of the second half.
Despite entering the second half with renewed energy, the battle on the field remained a back-and-forth match as both teams continued to press. Hofstra was able to capitalize on key opportunities, which led to them scoring three goals. The Hawks sought hard to respond, maintaining possession and creating several chances before the senior midfielder Patrick Osiecki was able to rocket the ball into the back of the net, cutting Hofstra’s lead to two at the 75th minute. Ultimately, Hofstra won with a late goal in the 81st minute to put the final score at 4-1. The Hawks fought hard and long in this match and in the season, with the team’s resilience and effort evident in every game.
This was the 10th meeting against Monmouth and Hofstra in the all-time series, with Hofstra leading 7-2-1. This was sophomore forward Kevin DeCapua’s first career start and Osiecki’s second goal of the season, which tied him for second on the team with seven points. This game also featured shots from freshman defender Damian Taraska, DeCapua, and junior forward Andrea Croce. Senior forward Jakob Friedman still leads the CAA in assists, is sixth in shots, eighth in goals, third in shots on goal, and fourth in points. Freshman forward Marcin Kluz is tenth in game-winning goals.
This match was senior day, where Monmouth congratulated seniors Jakob Frieman, Patrick Osiecki, Danny Bensch, Ian Brunet, Sean Cadigan, Matthew Fuentes, and Cam Lawrence.
Prior to hosting Hofstra, Monmouth hosted St. John’s on Oct. 21 at Hesse Field on The Great Lawn. With a little over 600 attendees, this match was just as intense. With shots from Friedman and junior defenseman Raul Garcia in the first 15 minutes, the battle on the field grew as St. John’s countered with seven shots in the remainder of the first half. Two of the shots were saved by freshman goalkeeper Herman Johnsen to keep the score 0-0 heading into the half. As the second half began, the two teams continued in the race to find the back of the net. All were unsuccessful until the 65th minute, when St. John’s was able to send one flying into the back of the net. The fight was not over as the junior forward Javi Losa attempted a late shot that went wide. It was St. John’s who took the 1-0 victory. This was the fifth all-time meeting between Monmouth and St. John’s, with the Red Storm leading 4-1 in the all-time series.
The Hawks have now finished their regular season and now wait until next week’s CAA outcomes to determine whether they’ll secure a spot for the CAA Tournament.
