On Monmouth Men’s Soccer played nationally ranked Hofstra to a 1-1 draw in its second game of conference play on Saturday, Sep. 12.
Hofstra, ranked No. 15 in the nation in the United Soccer Coaches poll, entered the game with a 4-0-1 record, with their other draw coming against fellow CAA opponent Stony Brook.
Despite being outshot 9-5 in the game, the Monmouth defense stood strong and held the Pride to one goal. Goalkeeper Herman Johnsen made three saves in the game, helping force the draw.
Hofstra opened the scoring five minutes into the game with Bastian Carlman scoring his fourth goal of the season for the pride. Monmouth tied the game in the 19th minute with freshman Brady Orendac scoring his first career collegiate goal. Orendac’s goal was Monmouth’s only shot of the first half.
These two goals were the only ones scored in the game. The rest of the first half was quiet with the two teams combining for only four shots throughout the half.
There were over double the amount of shots in the second half, as the two teams combined for 10 shots, but neither team could find the back of the net, and the game ended in a 1-1 draw.
Freshman Eric Palei and junior Jasen Bottini added assists on Orendac’s goal, with Palei’s assist being the first point of his collegiate career.
Prior to this game, Monmouth had gone 2-4-0 in six matches against Hofstra after joining the CAA in 2022. Saturday’s game was the first draw between the two teams since then.
Despite being 0-3 in non-conference play, Monmouth has started off conference play 1-0-1, including a victory against Drexel in the second game of the season on Aug. 29. Hofstra has started 1-0-2 in conference play, with their lone victory also coming against Drexel.
Hofstra hosted No. 13 Vermont on Tuesday night in a game between two nationally ranked teams. They will then host Binghamton on Saturday on their Alumni Day.
As for Monmouth, they will play their third CAA game on Saturday as they travel to Brookline to take on the Northeastern Huskies. The Hawks have not beaten Northeastern since 2023. Their next home game will be on Tuesday, Sep. 22 as they host non-conference opponent Rutgers-Newark.
