ELON, N.C. and PHILADELPHIA (Nov. 10, 2024) – Hofstra and UNCW used one-two punches in the second half to knock out the top two seeds in the CAA Men’s Soccer Championship, as No. 4 Hofstra upended top-seeded Elon and No. 6 UNCW continued its run by toppling second-seeded Drexel on Sunday.
Hofstra and UNCW will meet for the conference championship on Long Island on Saturday at 7 p.m. It will be the first time in the 35-year history of the CAA Men’s Soccer Championship that the final will not feature at least one of the top three seeds.
No. 4 Hofstra 2, No. 1 Elon 0
A second-half brace from junior
Laurie Goddard lifted fourth-seeded Hofstra to a 2-0 victory over No. 1 Elon in the semifinals of the CAA Men’s Soccer Championship on Sunday afternoon at Elon’s Rudd Field.
It’s the fifth straight trip to the championship game for the Pride (13-4-2), which has captured the past three CAA titles. Elon, which fell to Hofstra in the 2021 and 2022 CAA championship games, dropped to 10-7-1 overall.
Hofstra took a 1-0 lead in the 54
th minute when
Teddy Baker sent a crossing pass into the box, where Goodard’s diving header redirected the ball into the right corner of the net.
Goddard added his second goal less than four minutes later. A long kick from Pride goalkeeper
Filippo Dadone was headed forward by
Jacob Woznicki to a wide-open Goddard. He beat Elon keeper
Tomas Wroblewski one-on-one to the lower right corner for his team-leading ninth goal of the year.
Neither team was able to generate a significant offensive chance in a scoreless opening half. Hofstra had a 4-2 edge in shots, while CAA Player of the Year
Scott Vatne put Elon’s only attempt on goal in the 21st minute.
The Pride defense was outstanding all afternoon, limiting Elon to just six total shots and no shots on goal in the second half. Dadone needed to make one save to record his eighth shutout of the season.
Hofstra only had eight total shots but scored on two of its three attempts on frame.
No. 6 UNCW 2, No. 2 Drexel 0
A 76
th-minute tally by
Osei Gyamfi and an insurance goal five minutes later from
Cesare D’Amico continued UNCW’s dream run to the final game of the CAA Championship with a gritty win in Philadelphia.
The game was scoreless through 45 and deep into the second half before UNCW (6-8-5) struck for the decisive goal. The initial shot by
Bryan Miralrio – subbed into the game just a minute earlier – was blocked and corralled by Gyamfi, who put one home past
Alessandro Capogna.
D’Amico doubled the advantage in the 81
st minute, making a great run and receiving a ball from
Ethan Newsome before striking for the 2-0 lead.
UNCW tallied all but one of its eight shots in the second half, being outshot by Drexel (9-6-2), 9-8.
Trey Smiley stopped the only shot on frame that he faced.
The Seahawks will play for the CAA title for the first time since 2019 and will aim for their first league crown since 2009.
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