Hofstra seeks postseason success

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After back-to-back successful conference seasons that ended with tournament disappointments, Hofstra men’s soccer is seeking a postseason breakthrough in 2018.

Hofstra went 3-1-4 in Colonial Athletic Association to mark the second straight year it recorded just a single league loss. Much like 2016 though, the Pride was unable to carry its regular-season momentum into the CAA Tournament with William & Mary bouncing it in the quarterfinal round, 4-1. 

“We have tried to refocus ourselves in the spring and preseason,” Hofstra’s 30th-year head coach Richard Nuttall said. ”We’ve got our eye on the ball.”

Junior forward Luke Brown will be a major force in trying to propel Hofstra to its first CAA title and NCAA Tournament berth since 2015. The England native tied for the team lead with nine points and was a Third-Team All CAA selection. He was also the 2016 CAA Rookie of the Year after a freshman campaign in which he scored eight goals to lead Hofstra to a 7-1-1-league record.

“He is looking incredibly sharp,” Nuttall said of Brown. “He wants to be a pro player and I think he has the potential to be.”

Nuttall is looking for junior Oscar Ramsay to complement Brown as a scoring threat following a big sophomore campaign in which the midfielder from New Zealand netted four goals. Army-West Point transfer Peter Meyer is also a capable goal-scorer along with freshman Hendrik Hebbeker and Luca Tausch, who both hail from Germany.

Senior defenseman Sean Nealis anchors the backline after helping produce five shutouts last fall.  Fellow senior Marcus Lindqvist, a St. John’s transfer, will also be major part of the defense after starting 17 games last season in his first season at Hofstra. Freshmen Jacob Goker has stepped up early in his collegiate career to add youth on the Pride’s defensive unit.

Senior goalkeeper Alex Ashton returned for his third season as starting net-minder and posted 12 combined saves in Hofstra’s season-opening 2-2 draw with Dayton and a 1-0 loss at Ohio State. He achieved a 1.22 goals against average as junior.

“He is an outstanding keeper,” Nuttall said of Ashton, who played in the English Schools FA national cup during his high school career.

Sophomores Matthew Vowinkel and Jack Nuttall, who were former high school teammates at Chaminade in Mineola, return for a second collegiate season at Hofstra.  Vowinkel, who earned high school All-American honors, tallied two goals as a freshman and scored a goal in Hofstra’s tie with Dayton on Aug. 24. Nuttall, the son of Hofstra’s head coach, worked hard in the offseason and is looking to progress his game as a sophomore.

Nuttall added former Hofstra standout Shaun Foster as an assistant coach in the off-season and hopes his presence on the sideline will pay dividends. Foster, who played from 2010 to 2012, is one of just four All-Americans in program history.   

“He is a soccer addict,” Nuttall said of Foster, who previously was an assistant coach at Molloy College and has also coached with the Massapequa Soccer Club since 2010. “He is like a soccer scientist.”

Hofstra will tackle a grueling schedule that features five teams that advanced to the 2017 NCAA Tournament in Colgate, Dartmouth, UNC-Wilmington, William & Mary, and Columbia. Of the Pride’s 17 opponents, 12 were ranked in the top 100 in the final RPI of 2017. After opening up with five matches on the road, Hofstra opens the home schedule on Sept. 9 against Harvard at 1 p.m.

“The last few years we haven’t had that many CAA losses so it proves that playing a challenging non-conference schedule can prepare you well for conference,” Nuttall said. “I’m very happy to play the best teams we can.”