Burlington, Vt. – Senior Daneil Grundei scored in the 22nd minute and sophomore Joseph Holland extended his point streak to six games to lift Hofstra to a 1-0 win over Vermont in a non-conference game on Sunday afternoon at Virtue Field.
Hofstra split a two-game road trip against former America East rivals after falling to UNH on Friday. The Pride moved back to .500 at 3-3-2 by handing Vermont just its second defeat of the season. The Catamounts, which entered receiving votes in the NSCAA latest national poll, dropped to 5-2.
The Pride allowed just one shot in the first half thanks to a defensive unit led by center backs Grundei and Marius Flateboe. Grundei made an impact on both ends of the field, scoring the game's only goal at 21:43 when Holland sent in a free kick that senior Elliott Firth played deep in the box. Grundei tapped in the shot past goalkeeper Conor Leland for his second goal of the season and first since a win over Rutgers on Sept. 7.
Holland recorded an assist for a second straight game and now has at least one point in the last six games dating to a tie at St. John's on Sept. 4. The midfielder's ability to generate a score off a set piece was facilitated by Firth, who was coming off his first career two-goal game against the Wildcats on Friday. Firth now has six points, which trails only Holland's 10 for the team lead.
Hofstra registered its second shutout of the season with sophomore Brian McPartland and junior Patric Pray combining on the shutout. Pray played the entire second half and made four saves. Pray, who started the game but was subbed for McPartland in the opening minute, re-entered to start the second half. He saved Brian Wright's 50th-minute shot along with Bernard Yeboah's 68th-minute attempt.
Pray was also sharp late, stopping Charlie DeFeo's 84th-mintue shot and saving Luke Salmon's scoring attempt with 3:44 remaining to secure the victory. It was Hofstra's first shutout since the Pride played Northern Illinois to a scoreless tie on Opening Day.
Grundei, the former Towson captain who transferred to Hofstra, continued to make an impact with new his team in his first season with the Pride. He helped Hofstra establish a 13-6 shot advantage against a Vermont squad that was ranked first in the NSCAA East region poll.
Freshman Danny Elliott led Hofstra with three shots and sophomore Harri Hawkins added two.
The Pride concluded a season-opening stretch of seven of the first eight games on the road. Hofstra will return home on Tuesday, Sept. 30 versus Binghamton at 7 p.m.
