UNBEATEN NO MORE: Hofstra Dethrones Defending National Champion and Top Seed Vermont in NCAA Second Round

UNBEATEN NO MORE: Hofstra Dethrones Defending National Champion and Top Seed Vermont in NCAA Second Round

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Dylan Smith

BOX SCORE
 
BURLINGTON, Vt. – CAA Player and Midfielder of the Year Laurie Goddard netted the golden goal to help Hofstra take down the nation’s final unbeaten team, defending NCAA Champion and No. 1 seed Vermont, with a 3-2 overtime victory in the second round of the NCAA Men’s Soccer Championship at Virtue Field on Sunday.
 
Freshman defender Jan Ziewiec made an incredible defensive effort to push the ball ahead to Goddard in the 97th minute. The London, England native sent a through ball down the left side to a wide-open Daniel Burko. The senior forward reached the end line, waiting for Hofstra’s leading scorer to get to his spot. Standing to the left of the penalty dot, Goddard buried his one-timer underneath the crossbar for his 13th goal of the season to send his team into the next round.
 
The Pride (14-5) snapped the Catamounts’ 29-match unbeaten streak, becoming the first team to defeat Vermont (14-1-5) since Oct. 26, 2024, when UMBC earned a 1-0 win. Hofstra’s second-round victory also marked the Catamounts’ first home loss since a 2-1 setback to NJIT on Nov. 4, 2023, in the America East Tournament Quarterfinals.
 
The Catamounts broke through on a corner kick in the 13th minute as Philipp Kühn scored at the right post off of a headed pass from Marcos Blasco Devesa.
 
The Pride’s Gino Cervoni came up huge in the 30th minute to keep the deficit at one. Vermont’s Maxamilian Kissel broke into open space and fired a low shot on frame, with Cervoni pushing the attempt into Kühn’s chest. The redirection nearly crossed the goal line, but Hofstra’s Ziewiec used his head to knock the ball out of danger.
 
Hofstra saw its best chance of the opening half come in the 36th minute. Gabriel Pacheco broke down the left side and lofted a cross into the box. Burko leapt over the Catamounts’ defender and headed his chance just wide of the right pipe.
 
The Norwegian also had the first opportunity of the second half as Goddard nutmegged his defender before sending a cross to Burko in the 18-yard box for another header wide left.
 
The Pride continued to apply pressure with another prime chance entering the 62nd minute. Goddard bent a set piece around the wall and on frame, only to see Vermont’s netminder Niklas Herceg make a diving stop to his left.
 
Hofstra’s Pablo Hempelmann-Perez broke through in the 66th minute on a quick transition in the attacking third. Thengill Orrason settled the ball and booted a quick pass over the top, finding the head of diving Goddard. The CAA Player of the Year knocked the pass to a wide-open Hempelmann-Perez, who tapped in the equalizer on the doorstep.
 
It took just 2:14 for Hofstra to claim its first lead of the match. Evangelos Chrysostomou one-touched a clear to Owen Barnett near the top of the box. The senior midfielder tapped a pass over the Catamounts’ backline to a streaking Ziewiec, watching the Pride’s rookie flick his attempt past the goalkeeper and into the twine for a 2-1 lead in the 68th minute.
 
Vermont turned on the jets shortly after, with Kühn firing his attempt wide left in the 74th minute. Rui Aoki tried to find an equalizer in the 77th minute, only for the Pride to apply enough pressure to force his shot away from the frame. Niko Loebus attempted to laser an opportunity from 30 yards out and saw his shot blocked at the top of the box by Aleksei Armas.
 
The Catamounts broke through in the 84th minute on a corner set piece finding Aoki’s head at the top of the six-yard box, knocking his opportunity into the top-right corner for a 2-2 tie and forcing overtime.
 
After both teams eased into the extra period, Goddard fired his shot into the back of the net on a feed from Burko to lift Hofstra over the reigning National Champions, 3-2.
 
The Pride will square off with No. 16 seed Furman in the NCAA Men’s Soccer Championship Third Round on Sunday, Nov. 30 at 1p.m. The showdown from Greenville, S.C., will be streamed live on ESPN+
 
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