Boxscore

Photo courtesy of Mark Campbell

NEWARK, Del. -- The University of Delaware men’s soccer team gave up five second-half goals to visiting Hofstra University and fell, 6-0, in the Colonial Athletic Association contest at Delaware Mini-Stadium on Saturday morning.

In the first period of play, Delaware (5-7-0 overall, 2-2-0 CAA) and Hofstra (5-5-0 overall, 3-1-0 CAA) played a well-matched game in the rainy and windy conditions, but a Pride goal at the two-minute mark gave the visiting squad an early lead.

Hofstra pressured the Hens with three consecutive shots before junior Max Ribbens collected the rebound of senior Jamal Neptune’s shot that bounced off the left post and back into striking range. Ribbens gathered the ball amidst a cluster of players and fired the shot to the right side of goal past Delaware’s freshman goalkeeper, Brandon Paul.

With the Pride holding a one goal advantage, the teams battled back-and-forth while tearing up the water-logged grass surface throughout the first half. Though Hofstra outshot Delaware 6-3, the competitive edge was evident.

It was the second half the Pride took the wind from the sails of the Blue and Gold.

At 55:55, senior Rob Youhill crossed a ball from the right-side endline to meet the feet of freshman Stephan Barea and take a two-goal lead.

The Hens were able to hold the visitors for more than 16 minutes, allowing junior co-captain Jon Scheer to get a shot off for the Hens.

In the 73rd minute Hofstra netted its first of three back-to-back goals as junior Johannes Grahn took control of a loose ball off a Pride throw-in. Grahn shot to the left side of goal to tally the teams’ third. At 75:08, Youhill went unassisted as he beat a defender and sent a shot past Paul from the right post. Hofstra would net their fifth merely 1:43 later as Grahn connected with a pass chipped over the UD defense from senior Bill Pinto.

At 87:24, the Pride finalized all scoring as sophomore Brett Carrington dribbled down the right side from the midfield and got a step ahead of the UD defense. Carrington’s score notched Hofstra’s sixth score en route to snapping the Hens’ three-game winning streak.

Scheer (at right) was joined by freshman Dylan Gerstenfield, junior Chibsah Faisal and senior Darren Christie to combine for Delaware’s four shots.

Paul made four stops in goal for the Hens and sophomore Greg Cumpstone saved two for Hofstra.

“The lads are very frustrated with today’s result,” noted fourth-year head coach Ian Hennessy. “They were doing so well up until now -- we had great momentum coming into the game, a win today could have seen us to the top of the conference.

“To be honest, mentally we did not show up today. We tip our hat to Hofstra, they had it in the bag after they scored early -- we simply couldn’t recover. We move ahead now, pick ourselves up, and look to use this game as motivation for playing against nationally-ranked foe, George Mason, on Wednesday,” concluded Hennessy.

Delaware will return to CAA action on Wednesday, Oct. 14 when it travels to George Mason for a 7 p.m. match.

AGATE:

Hofstra......1.....5........6
Delaware...0.....0........0

Scoring Summary: First Half: HU - Max Ribbens - 2:00; Second Half: HU - Stephan Barea (Rob Youhill) - 55:55, HU - Johannes Grahn - 72:34, HU - Rob Youhill - 75:08, HU - Johannes Grahn (Bill Pinto) - 76:51, HU - Brett Carrington - 87:24; Shots: UD - 4, HU - 17; Corner Kicks: UD - 4, HU - 5; Saves: UD - 6 (Brandon Paul, 4), HU - 2 (Greg Cumpstone, 2); Fouls: UD - 8, HU 7; Offsides: UD - 0, HU - 4.