Sophomore forward Johannes Grahn (Tibro, Sweden - pictured) scored both Hofstra goals, including the tying goal with 11:02 left, as Hofstra captured a 2-2 tie with Drexel on Tuesday afternoon at Adelphi University.
With the tie, the Pride moves to 2-7-3 overall on the season, including 1-2-2 in the Colonial Athletic Association. Drexel moves to 4-4-4 overall and 2-1-2 in conference play. The game was moved to Adelphi due to Hofstra hosting the third and final presidential debate on Wednesday evening.
Drexel bounced back from a 1-0 halftime deficit to take a 2-1 second-half lead on a pair of goals five minutes apart, but Grahn scored his second goal of the game with 11:02 left to give Hofstra the tie. Junior midfielder Jamal Neptune (East Windsor, NJ) took a long throw in from the left sideline that traveled 10 yards in front of the left post. Two players jumped for the ball, but neither touched it, and it bounced to the far post. Grahn had his back to goal, but was able to touch the ball down, turn, and fire a shot into the right side of the net for his first two-goal game of the season and third of his two-year career.
After Hofstra pulled even, both teams had quality chances to win the game. With just over one minute left in regulation, junior midfielder Rob Youhill (Harrogate, England) broke in after a Drexel turnover, cut back to the middle, and hit a low shot that Drexel goalkeeper Cory Robertson was able to deflect wide with a fingertip save. Senior midfielder Justin Flood (Hauppauge, NY) got behind the Drexel defense in the first overtime from the left side and drew Robertson out of net, but his shot missed wide of the far post. Drexel's Greg Ermold missed on a header from in close off a corner kick in the first overtime.
The Pride got on the board at the 13:01 mark when a pair of headers led to a goal. Freshman forward Brett Carrington (St. George, Barbados) out-jumped a Drexel defender near the top of the 18-yard box to send the ball towards the goal. Drexel goalkeeper Cory Robertson came off his line to try to catch it at the top of the six-yard box, but Grahn got there a split-second before Robertson could get his hands on the ball and flicked a header into the empty net.
The lead stayed 1-0 until the second half, when Drexel struck quickly for a pair of goals. Reserve forward Max Crockett tied the score with 30:21 left when he made a long run down the right sideline after taking a short pass from Cory Rohlfsen. Crockett fought off a Pride defender in the corner of the box, and blasted a shot from a sharp angle that caught Hofstra goalkeeper Greg Cumpstone (Haddam, CT) leaning out to defend a potential cross.
Just over five minutes later, Brandon Fischer gave Drexel the 2-1 lead when he got to the back end of a Hofstra clearance off a corner kick near the top of the box. Fischer gathered the ball, and blasted a shot from 15 yards out along the right edge of the box that tucked inside the left post to put Drexel ahead with 25:16 left on the clock.
Hofstra finished with a 20-17 edge in shots for the game, and an 11-4 edge in corner kicks. Cumpstone had six saves for the Pride, while Robertson had five saves for the Dragons.
Hofstra will next be in action when it returns home to Hofstra Soccer Stadium to face defending CAA champion Old Dominion on Saturday night at 7 p.m.
