Hempstead, N.Y. – Senior defender Daniel Grundei broke a scoreless tie with an 81st-minute goal off a rebound and junior goalkeeper Patric Pray made four saves for his second individual shutout of the season in Hofstra's 1-0 win over Binghamton on Tuesday night.

Hofstra will go into Colonial Athletic Association play with a winning record in improving to 4-3-2 in the non-conference slate. Binghamton was led by Steve Celeste, who had five of the team's seven shots as the Bearcats fell to 2-8.

The Pride scored late off a free kick that ricocheted in the box. Elliott Firth played the ball off his chest and Grundei finished near point-blank range for his third goal of the season. The defender was part of a unit that held the Bearcats to three first-half shots as the Pride recorded its third shutout of the season and second in a row following a 1-0 win at Vermont.

 Pray helped Hofstra to a scoreless tie in the season opener versus Northern Illinois, started the game against Vermont and played the entire second half in splitting the clean sheet with sophomore Brian McPartland. Pray played the full 90 minutes against Binghamton and made four saves, including two in the first and two in the second, to earn his sixth career shutout.

Sophomore midfielder Joseph Holland paced Hofstra with five shots. The Pride built a 15-7 shot advantage, though Binghamton goalkeeper Robert Moewes kept his team in the game with six saves, including four in a scoreless first half. Both goalkeepers made saves in the final three minutes of the period to keep it tied.

A defensive game saw Hofstra gain a possession advantage, but the Pride didn't capitalize until the late stages. Firth has six points in his last three games.

Hofstra had not played since Sept. 21 after beating a Vermont team receiving votes in the latest NSCAA national poll. The Pride has a scoreless streak of 202:35 dating to Sept. 19 in a loss to UNH.

The Pride will open CAA play on Saturday with a 7 p.m. road contest at first-year league member Elon.