Two goals early in the first half — separated by less than three minutes — would end up being all the Stony Brook men’s soccer team needed to capture a win. Coming off a victory versus Siena, the Seawolves, led by senior striker Jarred Dass, captured another 2-1 victory on Wednesday, Sept. 18 in the Battle of Long Island versus the Hofstra University Pride.
“Our guys competed really well tonight,” head coach Ryan Anatol said in a press release.
“Hofstra is a very difficult team to play against, very physical and good on restarts. But our guys defended really well in those situations and were dangerous in the attack.”
In a competitive offensive affair, Stony Brook took 12 shots compared to Hofstra’s 15 throughout the game. The Seawolves made the better of their shots in the first half, scoring two goals despite being outshot 8-12. Dass scored in the 12th minute on a penalty kick, his team-leading fourth goal of the season and his second straight game with a goal. Redshirt-senior midfielder Gustavo Fernandes scored his first goal of the year in the 14th minute on a header from a free kick by sophomore midfielder Trausti Birgisson; it would end up being Stony Brook’s decisive goal. Hofstra did score in the 20th minute on a shot from junior midfielder George O’Malley, and after that, neither team would see a goal for the rest of the game.
The Seawolves’ defense did an effective job in the second half of holding Hofstra to zero shots on goal. This was key after 20 total shots in the first half by both teams. It seemed like the two sides cooled off on offense considerably after Stony Brook took the lead in the first half, and they never looked back. Hofstra would take three more shots in the second half that all proved to be futile, including a 77th minute free-kick by the Pride that would sail high. The Seawolves’ four goals in their last two outings were more than they had in the first four games of the season, and the offensive spurt seems to be the catalyst for the team’s recent success. This season, when the Seawolves have scored more than one goal in a game, they are undefeated with a 2-0-1 record.
The rivalry between Hofstra and Stony Brook is now tied at 2-2-1 all-time after a five-year break between the competitors from 2010 to 2015. Stony Brook men’s soccer will end their two-game road trip against the Yale Bulldogs at Reese Stadium in New Haven, Connecticut on Saturday, Sept. 21 at 7 p.m.
