Semifinals Set For CAA Men's Soccer Championship
Miles McQuiggan
HEMPSTEAD, N.Y. (Nov. 10, 2021) – The 2021 Colonial Athletic Association Men’s Soccer Championship kicks off Thursday with a pair of semifinal matchups at the Hofstra Soccer Stadium.
Regular-season champion Hofstra will serve as the host for the tournament and face Drexel in the tournament’s opening game. Northeastern and Elon will meet in Thursday’s second semifinal with winners meeting in Sunday’s title game.
Hofstra will be the No. 1 seed on its home pitch after a 17-point regular season. The Pride is No. 13 in the United Soccer Coaches poll this week, which matches the Pride’s program-best ranking in 2005. Hofstra is fourth nationally in goals-against average at 0.573 and collected three of four CAA major awards, including two earned by defenders
George O’Malley and
Mason Tatafu. The Pride will play in its 10
th-straight CAA Championship.
Northeastern rebounded from a halftime deficit in Harrisonburg and earned a win to secure a spot in the field on the back of a
Benjamin Klingen brace. Northeastern ranks in the top five in the CAA record book in single-season assists, as does
Federico Tellez individually with 13 entering the CAA Championship. Northeastern is in the top four a year removed from a winless spring season and has its most victories since 2012, a season in which the Huskies advanced to the NCAA Second Round.
Elon jumped out to a 2-0 lead on the season’s final day and earned a road victory at William & Mary. The Phoenix has found a way to win close games throughout the year, as Saturday’s 2-1 victory in Williamsburg was Elon’s seventh in a one-goal game this season. The Phoenix, which has been led offensively by
Jack Edwards with five goals on the year, is in the field for the first time since 2017. Elon played eight games this season against teams that were nationally ranked at one point during the season.
A golden goal from Drexel’s
Chris Donovan in the 102
nd minute Saturday will send the Dragons to back-to-back CAA Championships for the first time since 2012 and 2013. Donovan is second in the league with 12 goals on the year and has scored in seven of nine games entering the championship. The senior forward helped the Dragons become the first CAA team to win back-to-back CAA Player of the Year honors since VCU in 2003 and 2004. Drexel will aim for its first appearance in the final since winning the league title in 2013.
All three contests of the CAA Men’s Soccer Championship will be available on
FloFC. To stay up to date with what is happening be sure to follow the CAA on Twitter (@CAASports), Instagram (@caasports) and join the conversation using the hashtag #CAAChamps. For live results, recaps, and more, visit CAASports.com.
2021 CAA Men’s Soccer Championship (Hempstead, N.Y.)
Thursday, Nov. 11 – CAA Championship Semifinals
Game 1: #1 Hofstra vs #4 Drexel – 4:30 p.m., FloFC
Game 2: #2 Northeastern vs #3 Elon – 7:30 p.m., FloFC
Sunday, Nov. 14 – CAA Championship Final
Game 3: Winner Game 1 vs Winner Game 2 – 1 p.m.
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