Hempstead, NY - The Hofstra Men's Soccer team will open the 2010 season when it hosts Stony Brook on Wednesday for a 7:30 p.m. contest at Hofstra Soccer Stadium.
The Pride finished 8-7-2 last season and tied for fourth in the Colonial Athletic Association at 6-3-2, yet narrowly missed out on the CAA Tournament due to a tiebreaker with Old Dominion. This year's team will be motivated to earn one of the top four spots after coming up barely short last fall.
Many of the key players are gone from that team, though, and a young but talented squad will suit up in Hofstra uniforms this season. The Pride showed some promise in its exhibition game 0-0 tie with No. 17 St. John's last week, as the two teams played an even contest for most of the 110 minutes.
Hofstra holds a 14-5-4 all-time lead against Stony Brook, although the series has been very even since the Seawolves joined Division I in 1998. Since then, Hofstra has a 4-3-1 lead against Stony Brook, including a 1-0 win last year on the road. In that game, current sophomore Stephan Barea (Levittown, NY) scored just 62 seconds into his college career to provide the margin of victory, as he headed in a free kick from in front of the net. Current junior Greg Cumpstone (Killingworth, CT) had a strong game in goal, making six of his seven saves in the second half to preserve the 1-0 win.
The Hofstra-Stony Brook game will be broadcast live by WRHU over the radio (88.7 FM) and on the internet at GoHofstra.com. Verizon FiOS1 will also televise the game on tape delay, airing on Monday, Sept. 6 at 7:30 p.m.
For ticket information, call 516-HOF-TIXX (463-8499) or log on to the Hofstra website at GoHofstra.com.
