Vowinkel's Brace, Vatne's PK Send Hofstra And Elon To CAA Men's Soccer Final
Miles McQuiggan
CHAMPIONSHIP CENTRAL
HEMPSTEAD, N.Y. (Nov. 11, 2021) – A brace from Hofstra’s
Matthew Vowinkel and a second-half PK from Elon freshman
Scott Vatne sent the Pride and Phoenix on to Sunday and the Colonial Athletic Association Men’s Soccer Final at the Hofstra Soccer Stadium.
Host Hofstra defeated Drexel, 2-1, in the tournament’s opening game, before Elon withstood a Northeastern barrage to knock off the Huskies, 1-0, in the nightcap.
(1) Hofstra 2, (4) Drexel 1
BOX SCORE | HIGHLIGHTS
A brace from
Matthew Vowinkel led the way as Hofstra advanced to the CAA Men’s Soccer Final for the third time in four years with a 2-1 win over Drexel at the Hofstra Soccer Stadium.
Vowinkel scored the game’s opening goal and put the Pride in front for good early in the second half.
Daniel Nesseler scored the lone goal for the Dragons in their second consecutive CAA Semifinal appearance.
Hofstra struck first in the 12
th minute, as
Ryan Carmichael battled for a ball in the box and played it over to Vowinkel, who tapped it into the left side of the goal for the match’s first score.
Drexel evened the contest six minutes later, as
Kyle Tucker sent the ball back to Nesseler, who blasted the shot past the Hofstra goalkeeper to bring the teams level at 1-1.
The Pride moved back in front in the 50
th minute on Vowinkel’s second of the night.
Ryan Carmichael sent a ball into the box that was on target for Vowinkel to head into the goal and give the Pride a 2-1 advantage.
Wessel Speel made five saves for Hofstra, as Drexel had six shots on goal to Hofstra’s four. The Pride took five of the six corners in the match. Hofstra is into the final for the ninth time under
Richard Nuttall.
Hofstra won the regular-season meeting at Elon thanks to a
Hendrik Hebbeker brace and Speel shutout.
(3) Elon 1, (2) Northeastern 0
BOX SCORE | HIGHLIGHTS
A penalty kick from
Scott Vatne in the 75
th minute was the difference to send Elon to its first CAA Final with a 1-0 victory over Northeastern Thursday night on Long Island.
Northeastern outshot Elon 18-5 on the night, but a stellar save by Northeastern goalkeeper
Colby Hegarty to prevent an initial opportunity led to the Huskies keeper taking out a Phoenix player in the box and setting up the opportunity for the game’s only goal.
The Huskies had the vast majority of chances throughout the night and especially in the second half, a 45-minute stretch in which Northeastern outshot Elon 14-4 and took seven of eight corners.
Peter Wentzel was tested often and recorded six saves as the Phoenix defense produced a clean sheet.
Vatne’s game-winner was the first by a freshman to secure a 1-0 victory in the CAA Championship since Delaware’s Carlos Perales struck for a golden goal in a 2014 semifinal win over Northeastern.
Elon’s one-goal win was its eighth out of nine victories this fall. The Phoenix is into a conference final for the first time since winning three straight SoCon titles from 2011-13.
CAA Men’s Soccer Championship
Final – Sunday, Nov. 14
(1) Hofstra vs. (3) Elon – 1 p.m., FloFC
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