Men's Soccer Bounces Back from Late Hofstra Equalizer for 2-1 Win

Wednesday, October 24

Hempstead, N.Y.

TBA

Drexel University

11-3-2, 7-1-1CAA

Hofstra

10-5-1, 4-4-0CAA

DREXEL

HOFSTRA

Photo by: Greg Carroccio

Men's Soccer Bounces Back from Late Hofstra Equalizer for 2-1 Win

10/24/2012 9:14:00 PM | Men's Soccer

Box Score

HEMPSTEAD, N.Y. – Any team that has a shot at first place late in the season will tell you that they need some good breaks to go their way along the course of the season. On Wednesday night at Hofstra, it was safe to say that the bounces went the Dragons' way. Robert Liberatore's free kick from near midfield in the 83rd minute looped into the box and bounced high and over the head of Hofstra's goalkeeper Adam Janowski, answering a late equalizer Hofstra had scored and giving the Dragons a 2-1 victory. The Dragons completed a perfect 5-0 conference road schedule, and regained sole possession of first place in the Colonial Athletic Association.

The game got off to a frenetic start. After picking off a Drexel pass near midfield, Hofstra earned a corner kick, but could do nothing with it. After a high shot over the crossbar, the Dragons got the ball back. Tim Washam fed it up to midfield, where it was shuffled around before Fabio Machado put strong pressure on Hofstra goalkeeper Adam Janowski. Drawing him out, Machado passed it off to Page, who tried to deke Janowski but could not get it past the diving keeper. However, Janowski could not control the rebound and Page stuck with the play, getting it back and poking it past Janowski for his ninth goal of the season. Drexel had a 1-0 lead less than ninety seconds into the game.

Page's goal gave him 39 total points in his career with 18 goals and three assists. That leaves him 30th all-time in Drexel men's soccer history.

Page, Machado, John Grosh and Matheus Goncalves each had straight-on looks at the goal later in the half, but Janowski was able to make all four saves to keep the game close.

As the second half got underway, it was Tim Washam who was tested right away. Florian Popp broke free 12 yards out from the Drexel goal, just off to Washam's left. He pounded a low shot to the right of the senior keeper, forcing Washam to dive to his right to make the save and keep the sheet clean.

In the 65th minute, the Pride nearly evened things up. A long, arching pass came into the box and Washam came out from the net to attempt a leaping grab. He came up short, though, and landed awkwardly, falling to the ground. Quickly, Hofstra's leading scorer Maid Memic got control and tried to thread a shot around two Drexel defenders. The presence of the Dragons altered the shot just enough to force it high and just off the crossbar. Drexel got to the ball first and punched it out of harm's way to maintain the 1-0 advantage.

Hofstra broke through in the 76th minute. Pushing up into the box, A.J. Laza chipped a pass into the box about 10 yards out from the net, landing it to the right of Washam. Chris Griebsch redirected it back across to Memic, whose header was placed just out of Washam's reach in the upper left corner of the goal.

Seven minutes later, Drexel took the lead back. As Washam cleared the ball on a goalkick to midfielder, Hofstra was called for a handball that led to a free kick for the Dragons. Sophomore Robert Liberatore, who had helped hold down the defensive end all night, took the kick, feeding a high arching shot into the net to try to set something up. No one could get a foot on the ball though, and it took one big hop and over the head of a scrambling Janowski, into the extreme right corner of the net.

Washam was tested again in the 86th minute, as Memic had a quick look from the keeper's right, but fed it straight into Washam's body. Then two minutes later, Memic found himself once more with just Washam to beat, but the senior keeper stood tall, leaping and punching the ball up and over the crossbar with his outstretched arm. It was his sixth save of the evening.

Drexel was playing without junior defender and captain Tal Bublil, who was issued a red card late in their 1-0 victory at Georgia State on Saturday. Matthew DiDomenico stepped into the starting spot and performed brilliantly on the defensive side of the ball.

The Dragons will now have a rare weekend off, as they get set for the final game of their regular season next Wednesday evening. In the battle for the top seed in the CAA Tournament, Northeastern has two games left, hosting George Mason on Saturday before visiting Old Dominion for the season finale next Wednesday. Drexel, meanwhile, will host James Madison on Senior Night, as the Dragons honor eight graduating seniors playing their final regular season home game at Vidas Field. Kickoff is set for 7:00 p.m.