Virginia Men's Soccer Rallies Back to Draw No. 19 Hofstra 1-1

The Cavaliers entered the night looking to make it three wins in three games at Klöckner Stadium, but would only be able to salvage a 1-1 draw against No. 19 Hofstra. The Pride scored early on a set piece in the first half. In the second half, Virginia’s Daniel Mangarov received a red card before Mouhameth Thiam fired the equalizer for the ten men Cavaliers.

“I’m super proud of the fight back being down a man,” said UVA head coach George Gelnovatch.

Rampant from a dominant win against No. 8 Louisville on Friday, the Cavaliers carried that momentum into the opening stages of Tuesday’s game by controlling possession early. Joey Batrouni, filling in once again for the injured Holden Brown, fielded a long-range dribbling shot as his lone test in the first 15 minutes. 

The possession arrow continued to favor the Hoos as the pressure continued to mount but were yet to put a shot on goal. Then, after 15 minutes, Paul Wiese fired a shot from the right wing but was denied by Wessel Speel. 

Minutes later, a handball by Umberto Pela awarded the Pride with a free kick just outside the 18-yard box. Hofstra took advantage of the opportunity as Ryan Carmichael elegantly lifted the ball over the Virginia wall and into the bottom left corner to give the Pride a 1-0 lead.

“They scored on us last year in the same exact place, same player, same free kick… other than that, they didn't have a good chance in the game, ” said Gelnovatch.

In response, the Cavaliers fired back with more pressure, which led to a corner kick. The ensuing corner set up a shot from Stephen Annor from point-blank range, but his shot was blocked away by Speel. Later on, Mouhameth Thiam forced a diving save after his shot nearly caught the bottom left corner. 

The Cavaliers had Hofstra on their back foot, but the Pride refused to break as they played with three center backs to contain Annor who entered tonight with five goals in his last five games.

With eight minutes left in the half, Thiam delivered a cross to Kome Ubogu, but his header was off target. The Cavaliers entered halftime outshooting Hofstra 8-2 and controlling 66% of the possession.

To start the second half, Hofstra emerged with a strong press against the Cavaliers that allowed the Pride to put some pressure on the Hoos. The pressure nearly allowed Hofstra to double its advantage if it were not for a diving save from Batrouni to stifle the header.

After that, the physicality of the game intensified, with Hofstra receiving three yellow cards from three different instances, with the last one issued to the Hofstra coaching staff. Minutes later, Daniel Mangarov was issued a red card for stepping on an opposing player when play was stopped, an inexcusable mistake.

Then, despite being down to ten men, Thiam found the back of the net after a give-and-go with Jack Singer to bring the game level 1-1 in the 57th minute. 

With momentum on their side, the Cavaliers continued to create chances while being willed by the loud crowd at Klockner Stadium. In response, Hofstra nearly scored with a counterattack that forced Umberto Pela to make a slide tackle in the box to clear the danger. After that, Virginia continued its pressure, outhustling the Pride as the Cavaliers did not want to settle for a draw.

With 16 minutes left to play, Batrouni and Aidan O’Connor collided as they both attempted to make a play on the ball that left Batrouni shaken up, but he would gut it out and remain in the game.

As the clock dwindled, both teams struggled to create chances, but the physicality persisted as Annor received a yellow card. In the closing stages, neither side would break through, with the game ending 1-1.

The Cavaliers (6-3-2, 2-2 ACC) will look to continue the three-game unbeaten streak as they travel north for a matchup against Boston College on Friday at 7pm. 

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