MSOC: Hofstra, Delaware Battle To Scoreless Draw

10/17/2010 1:51:00 AM

Hempstead, N.Y. Freshman goalkeeper Roberto Pellegrini (Monte Porzio Catone, Italy) had 10 saves, including one with his face in the first overtime, as Hofstra and Delaware played to a 0-0 tie on Saturday evening at Hofstra Soccer Stadium.

With the tie the Pride moves to 3-6-4 on the year, including 1-3-2 in the Colonial Athletic Association. Delaware moves to 3-7-2 overall and 2-3-1 in league play.

Despite the scoreless tie, the game was full of outstanding scoring chances for both teams. Delaware finished with a 20-18 edge in shots, and Blue Hens goalkeeper Kris Devaux nearly matched Pellegrini in saves with eight.

The first overtime saw Delaware get the better of the chances, as Jon Scheer broke into the middle of the box after a series of quick passes for a one-on-one with Pellegrini. Pellegrini went down to block the shot, and Scheer tried to shoot over the top of him, but the ball hit Pellegrini in the face and rolled away as the game remained scoreless.

The second overtime saw Hofstra get several excellent chances. Junior forward Brett Carrington (St. George, Barbados) got inside the right edge of the box, but Devaux was able to come off his line to block the shot from 12 yards out. Sophomore midfielder Mike Annarumma (Massapequa Park, N.Y.) then cranked a volley from 20 yards out that dipped barely wide of the upper-left corner. On a Hofstra corner kick, sophomore defender Stephan Barea (Levittown, N.Y.) got to a bouncing ball near the top of the six-yard box and sent a rocket at Devaux that he was able to parry away with a reflex save.

Devaux also had a diving shot on a knuckling line drive with two minutes left in the second overtime from Carrington, before Delaware went the other way and Scheer's shot from 18 yards was tipped just wide of the right post by Pellegrini, who got his fingertip on the ball after it deflected off a Pride defender.

Neither team scored in the first half, although both sides had numerous quality chances that they let get away. Hofstra junior forward Brett Carrington (St. George, Barbados) got alone inside the box in the opening minutes, but missed just wide of the left post, then missed just wide of the right post with a header midway through the opening stanza. Delaware's Kyle Ellis dribbled through a pair of Hofstra defenders and had a one-on-one with Pellegrini in the 12th minute, but missed high. Delaware's Mike White had a shot from 10 yards out in the 38th minute smothered by Pellegrini.

Hofstra senior Kevin Mira (Daly City, Calif.) then had the best chance for either team in the first half when he got to a loose ball outside the box with an empty net after Devaux had to come off his line to bat a ball away in the 41st minute, but Mira hit his shot over the crossbar.

The second half saw Delaware's Ben Rodkey hit the crossbar with a one-timer from 20 yards out with just over 20 minutes to play. Two minutes later, Chris Griebsch (Dessau-Rosslau, Germany) took a free kick for Hofstra from 25 yards that was dipping into the upper-right corner, but Devaux made a diving save to tip it over the crossbar. Freshman midfielder Lukas Ahman (Soderberg, Sweden) also had a sliding shot from the top of the six-yard box that he popped over the crossbar with an open net to shoot at.

The 0-0 tie was the third time that Hofstra has played to a scoreless draw this season. Delaware finished with a 7-4 edge in corner kicks, in addition to its 20-18 edge in shots.

Hofstra will next be in action when it continues its three-game homestand on Wednesday night against Drexel with a 7 p.m. game at Hofstra Soccer Stadium.

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