Oct. 23, 2010
Hempstead, N.Y. - Senior forward Johannes Grahn scored with 28:56 left in regulation to give the Hofstra a 1-0 win over Old Dominion on Saturday evening at Hofstra Soccer Stadium.
With the win, the Pride improves to 5-6-4 and 3-3-2 in the Colonial Athletic Association, Old Dominion slips to 7-5-2 and 3-3-2 with the loss. Old Dominion was in third place going into the day.
The game-winning goal was set up when freshman goalkeeper Roberto Pellegrini took a long free kick. Old Dominion got to the ball first, but their header popped straight up into the air 35 yards from goal. Freshman Tyler Botte was able to flick a header on to Grahn, who pushed the ball forward past the last Monarch defender and broke in alone. Old Dominion goalkeeper Evan Newton (Virginia Beach, VA.) came off his line, but Grahn was able to push the ball past him, and it hit off the inside of the left post before going over.
From there, Hofstra's defense held tight and didn't give up many quality chances. ODU leading scorer Jordan LeBlanc (Haverford, Pa.) tried a long free kick from 35 yards that knuckled in on Pellegrini, but he was able to stop it for one of his five saves on the day.
A scoreless first half saw relatively few quality scoring chances, although each team had one great opportunity they let get away. Old Dominion's Chris Harmon (Downingtown, PA.) had an open shot from near the penalty kick stripe off a cross in the 21st minute, but he one-timed his shot barely wide of the left post. Old Dominion's Daniel Lister also had a shot inside the six-yard box in a scramble off a corner kick in the 23rd minute, but it was blocked by a Hofstra defender.
Old Dominion finished with a 15-4 edge in shots and an 8-2 edge in corner kicks, but Pellegrini picked up his third shutout in a row since his debut at Northeastern last week (a 4-0 loss).
The Monarchs host James Madison Wednesday night at 7 p.m.
ODU 0-0=0HU 0-1=1
61:04 Hofstra Johannes Grahn from Tyler Botte
Shots: ODU 14; Hofstra (5)Corners: ODU (7), HU (2Saves: ODU-Newton (1); HU- Pellegrini (5)