The Hofstra Men's Soccer team, one of only 11 programs in the country to enter the season with two straight conference titles, opens the 2006 campaign with a road game at Northwestern on Friday at 4:30 p.m.

The Pride embarks on the 2006 season in a new position as the hunted team in its conference. After back-to-back CAA championships in 2004 and 2005 and with a strong nucleus of returning players, the Pride figures to be one of the favorites for the 2006 CAA title.

The Pride had a Cinderella run to the 2004 championship, winning the CAA Tournament as the fifth seed in a six-team field. Hofstra was still overlooked somewhat heading into last year, as the CAA coaches picked the Pride to finish fourth in the preseason poll. Instead, Hofstra finished second (7-2-2) in the regular season and won its second straight CAA title in dramatic fashion, scoring a goal with eight seconds left in the championship game against top-seeded Old Dominion.

This year, the Pride will no longer be able to surprise anyone, and it must face the burden of being a team that everyone is fired up to play during the regular season. Hofstra knows, though, that it can face those battles with the top returning goal scorer in the CAA (Michael Todd), the leading assist man in the league (Constantinos Christoudias), a first team All-CAA midfielder (Chris Cox) and a four-year starter at center back who was named the Most Outstanding Player of the CAA Tournament (Gary Flood - pictured).

Following is a position-by-position outlook of the Hofstra Men's Soccer team heading into the 2006 season.

Forward
Hofstra is in excellent shape at the forward position as senior Michael Todd is back for his fourth season. Todd tallied 12 goals and five assists last year, the highest goal total (and point total) for a Pride player since 1998. His ability to finish is an important weapon for Hofstra, as is his ability to be a target player, warding off defenders and winning possessions to allow the Pride's midfield to get into the attacking third. 

The Pride is prone to changing its alignment and will sometimes play with Todd as the lone striker in a 4-5-1. When it goes to a more traditional 4-4-2, junior Constantinos Christoudias often pushes up top as a second forward. A unique player with a long stride (6-2) and creative skills, Christoudias often poses match-up problems with his height and speed. His nine assists last year led the CAA, while he also tallied eight goals, including the first hat trick for a Hofstra player since 2000.

Ray Hassett, a transfer from Loyola (Md.) College, is a strong candidate to contribute as well after tallying seven goals for the Greyhounds last season, while he could also play in the midfield. Junior Cole Wollerman and freshman Lewis Irish will also get the opportunity to contribute up top.

Midfield

Hofstra's midfield in 2005 centered around junior Chris Cox and graduated senior Matthew Telling. Cox is back after earning first team All-CAA honors last year with six goals and three assists, while developing a reputation as an outstanding two-way player. Telling's creativity in the central midfield will be missed, but junior Adrian Papaluca should be able to fill much of that role. Papaluca emerged as the postseason hero last year, scoring the winning goal in overtime in a 3-2 CAA semifinal win over James Madison and tallying the game-winner with eight seconds left in a 1-0 win over Old Dominion in the championship.

On the outside, the Pride has the option of three experienced seniors in Arman Osooli, Arnel Andrada and Brian Sosa. Osooli is one of the fastest players on the roster and can take on defenders in one-on-one situations with his speed. Andrada is a steadying influence who is rarely out of position and has the ability to sneak up the sidelines into the offensive third as well. Sosa, a shifty, quick midfielder with solid technical skills emerged as a consistent contributor last season and tallied a goal and three assists.

One newcomer who is expected to bolster the Pride's midfield is sophomore transfer Justin Flood, Gary's younger brother, who played at Boston College last year as a freshman. Justin transferred after the fall semester and had the chance to work with the Pride players in the spring. Sophomore Eric Schmidt is also expected to contribute in the central midfield this season after seeing some action off the bench last year. Bill Pinto, who red-shirted last fall, will add to the options for the coaching staff, while incoming freshmen Demont Mitchell, Rory McCrea and Rob Youhill will look to crack the rotation.

Defense

Hofstra ended the 2005 regular season with five straight shutouts, and the two center backs from that unit are both returning. Gary Flood has been a mainstay at center back for the last four years and picked up Most Outstanding Player honors at the CAA Tournament for his work on the Pride's back line. Arguably the top man-to-man defender the Pride has ever had, Flood is nearly impossible to beat one-on-one and has developed into an outstanding defensive quarterback.

Sophomore Corey Gudmundson stepped in to a starting center back position as a freshman last year and started every game. A physical defender who is strong in the air, Gudmundson provided a perfect complement to Flood last year, improving as the season went on. His defensive work on CAA Player of the Year Brian Cvilikas in the conference title game helped the Pride pick up the shutout victory. 

Hofstra did lose its two starting outside backs to graduation, but has plenty of options as either Andrada or Osooli could move back from the midfield to an outside back spot. The Pride also has junior Charalambos Rossides to add to the mix. Rossides started eight games last year and Hofstra allowed only one goal in those eight contests (on a penalty kick against Columbia). Rossides played both on the back four and as a defensive midfielder and could be used in either spot this fall.

Freshmen Evan Jaep, Jamal Neptune, Andrew Hinkson and Richard Martinez also join the Pride with some strong credentials and should give Hofstra plenty of depth in the back.

Goalie

Four-year starter Matthias Gumbrecht graduated, but the Pride is fortunate to have his replacement already groomed and ready to step into the starting role. Junior Tom Johansen has backed up Gumbrecht the last two years and started two non-conference games last year, picking up his first career win in a 2-1 victory at Saint Peter's. Incoming freshmen James Winters is expected to challenge for playing time right away, while fellow freshman Kyle Ray will also look to be in the mix.