Hofstra University Athletics

MEN'S SOCCER HAS CAA BID ON LINE AGAINST #21 UNC WILMINGTON SATURDAY

11/3/2009 8:00:00 PM

Hempstead, NY - The Hofstra Men's Soccer team will be looking to secure a bid to the four-team CAA Tournament when it faces #21 UNC Wilmington at Hofstra Soccer Stadium on Saturday at 7 p.m.

UNC Wilmington (12-2-3, 8-0-2 CAA) has already wrapped up the regular season title and the right to host the CAA Tournament next weekend. Hofstra (8-7-1, 6-3-1 CAA) is in fourth place and with a win over UNC Wilmington, the Pride would lock up the fourth seed and ensure a rematch with UNC Wilmington at Wilmington in the CAA semifinals next Friday. William & Mary and Northeastern are already locked into the other semifinal game as the 2-3 seeds (although which team is the second seed will be determined on Saturday).

If the Pride does not win, it could open the door for Old Dominion (10-4-2, 5-3-2 CAA) to catch Hofstra and take the final spot in the CAA field. Old Dominion closes out at George Mason, and a Monarch win, coupled with a Pride loss, would put Old Dominion in the fourth seed and leave Hofstra home.

If Hofstra ties and Old Dominion wins, the two teams will finish with the same 6-3-2 record, including a head-to-head tie against each other (0-0 at Old Dominion on Oct. 17) and ties with top-seeded UNC Wilmington. The tiebreaker would thus come down to which team finishes higher between Towson (which Hofstra defeated and Old Dominion lost to) and James Madison (which defeated Hofstra and lost to Old Dominion). Towson and James Madison play each other at James Madison on Saturday, and a Towson win would vault the Tigers ahead of the Dukes and give the tiebreaker edge to Hofstra. A tie or a James Madison win would give the edge to Old Dominion.

Hofstra will try to take any tiebreakers or guesswork out of the equation by winning on its home field against UNC Wilmington, which is ranked 21st and has not lost a CAA game all season. The Pride, though, has had recent success against nationally ranked teams, including a 4-1 win over #13 Virginia Tech last year. Overall, Hofstra is 12-5-1 in its last 18 games against teams ranked in the top 25, dating back to 2004, and all five losses have been to teams ranked in the top seven, including two in the NCAA Tournament. Against teams ranked 10-25, Hofstra is 11-0-1 in the last five years.

The Pride will be looking to bounce back from a loss to James Madison on Saturday, which prevented Hofstra from clinching a berth in the field. Freshman midfielder Stephan Barea (Levittown, NY) was one of the bright spots in that game with a goal and an assist (and another shot saved off the line by a JMU defender), tying him for team-high honors with six goals on the year. Junior forward Johannes Grahn (Tibro, Sweden) also has six goals, while senior midfielder Rob Youhill (Harrogate, England) has a team-best 16 points on five goals and six assists.

For ticket information, contact the Hofstra Box Office at 516-HOF-TIXX or visit the Hofstra website at GoHofstra.com.

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