Hofstra and UNCW Set For First CAA Championship Game Meeting in Conference History
Ben Kane
Hofstra and UNCW will meet Saturday night on Long Island in a CAA Men’s Soccer Championship final full of league firsts.
The Pride and Seahawks, two of the league’s perennial contenders, will square off for the league crown for the first time. The matchup between No. 4 seed Hofstra and No. 6 seed UNCW will be the first league title game without any of the top three seeds involved.
Hofstra (13-4-2) looks to earn its fourth-straight CAA Championship title, while UNCW (6-8-5) is set to make its fourth appearance. (2009, 2017, 2019, 2024). This tallies the eighth year in a row that either the Pride or Seahawks have been in the Championship Game.
The Pride matched up with No. 5 seeded Charleston last Thursday, winning 3-2 in an overtime thriller capped off by an Olimpico from Teddy Baker. Hofstra advanced to play No. 1 Elon and won 2-0 to earn a spot in the championship game. After a scoreless first half, Laurie Goddard fired Hofstra two goals in a span of three minutes. Goddard’s brace was his first of the season and bookmarked his fifth goal in the last six games. Hofstra continues to rank as one of the top programs in the nation and currently posts a 10-game winning streak in Championship play.
After a penalty shootout win over No. 3 seed Monmouth, UNCW took down No. 2 Drexel in emphatic fashion by a score of 2-0. With 15 minutes left on the clock, Osei Gyamfi put the Seahawks ahead before Cesare D’Amico secured a spot in the Championship game five minutes later. Goalkeeper Trey Smiley tallied his second shutout of the season against the Dragons, earning him his fourth win of the season. The Seahawks head to their first final in five seasons.
Saturday’s matchup can be found on FloFC. The winner will earn the CAA’s automatic qualifier to the NCAA Tournament with the destination learned on Monday afternoon.
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