Tribe Scribe: Hofstra escapes Tribe with 1-0 overtime win in CAA men’s soccer

By Press release submission

Nov 11, 2022

After playing 90 scoreless minutes against each other for the second time in less than six weeks, it seemed logical that William & Mary and Hofstra would remain that way through two overtime periods and go right to penalty kicks. Instead, the Pride broke through in third minute of the second extra session.

Ryan Carmichael scored from just outside the 6-yard box with 7:57 remaining, and Hofstra held on for a 1-0 win over the Tribe in the first round of the CAA tournament Thursday in Wilmington, N.C. It was the Pride's 10th shot on goal of the night and the only one Tribe keeper Danilo Nikcevic was unable to stop.

The game's only goal came after a quick turnaround. W&M's Augie Cooper had possession at midfield and played it ahead, but the Pride's Shane Salmon intercepted. He kicked it forward about 50 yards for Carmichael, the CAA Player of the Year, who chased it down just inside the 18-yard box.

Still on the run, he drilled a shot with his right foot across his body and past a diving Nikcevic.

"Ironically, we really didn't feel like we were in much jeopardy when the moment happened," W&M coach Chris Norris said. "It was just one of those moments where they cleared the ball, and the clearance just happened to go to a spot that was difficult for us to deal with. It was unfortunate."

The Tribe's best chance after that came when Nathan Messer lofted a shot toward the net that was headed away by Salmon as W&M's Diba Nwegbo converged.

As it was in a 0-0 tie against Hofstra on Sept. 24, the Tribe's defense was outstanding. Hofstra forward Eliot Goldthorp, who leads the nation in goals (14) and is second in shots (64), was held scoreless and had twice as many fouls (two) as attempts (one).

Nikcevic finished with a career-high eight saves, two of the amazing variety coming within seconds of each other with 24 minutes remaining in regulation.

"I've said all along that Hofstra has the best combination of attacking players in the league, and by a considerable margin," Norris said. "To basically play those guys for 180 minutes and not concede a goal is a real accomplishment.

W&M (5-7-6), which qualified as the No. 6 seed with Saturday's comeback win over Monmouth, controlled much of the game's play but managed only three shots on target. The first didn't come until the 75th minute, a header by Alexander Levengood that Hofstra's Wessel Speel had act quick to save.

"We had a good chance with Diba in the first half," Norris said. "Augie had a header in the second half on a set piece that he connected on but it just happened to go right to the goal keeper. But that's just the way soccer is sometimes."

The season complete, Norris is proud of his team. Highlights include a 2-1 win over No. 10 Wake Forest and ties against regular-season CAA champion Elon and Hofstra. And the 2-1 comeback win over Monmouth to clinch the tournament berth.

"I think we made a lot of progress as a program in terms of our culture and connectivity," he said. "A lot of individuals had really good seasons and made strides. We didn't achieve all the goals we set out to achieve, but very few teams do.

"There aren't that many championships to go around. At the end of the day, we can certainly look ourselves in the mirror and know we gave everything we could."