STONY BROOK, N.Y. — After 72 minutes of scoreless play in both team's conference openers, the Stony Brook men's soccer team quickly secured the three points up for grabs, scoring twice in a 3:55 span to defeat Hofstra 2-1 in the first Battle of Long Island since the Seawolves joined the CAA this summer.
Amit Magoz scored his first goal in a Seawolves uniform, as the Israeli midfielder slid in to fire in a rebound off the head of
Jonas Bickus that made it 1-0 Seawolves.
The hosts quickly doubled the advantage, as
Selcuk Kahveci and
Kameron Blaise combined for a 1-2 move that Blaise slotted home under the Hofstra keeper to give Stony Brook the cushion it would need to walk away with all three points.
Hofstra got one back late off a far-post header but it was the only blemish on an otherwise strong day in net for
Curtis Copenhaver, who recorded four saves including a pair of fingertip stops that kept the Pride from getting on the board until the 89th minute.
STATS AND NOTES
- After one goal in his first two seasons, Blaise has scored twice in as many games to tie for the team lead in the category. This afternoon's tally is also his first career, game-winning goal.
- Kahveci also has points in back to back contests, recording the assists on both of Blaise's goals this week. The two also connected in Monday night's 4-1 win over Saint Peter's.
- Bickus recorded a point for the second consecutive contest, flicking the header on frame that would eventually be finished off by Magoz. He has five points in three games this season and 13 for his career.
- Magoz recorded his first goal in a Seawolves uniform on his only shot of the contest.
- Birgisson's assist is his first of 2022 and eighth of his career. He's coming off a five-assist campaign in 2021, the most on the squad.
- Five of the six Stony Brook goals have come in the second half this season, with Bickus' opener on Monday night against Saint Peter's being the lone exception.
QUOTES FROM THE SEAWOLVES
"We talked about conference play and how the goal each time out is to pick up points and I'm really happy we were able to do that today. The way we started the game, I thought we played really well. Our goal was to get in behind them. We know they are a physical team and they play a physical style. I thought we started to get a little fatigued as the half went on and we allowed them to get into the game but overall I thought we defended well. We scored two good goals and were able to put them under pressure. I would've liked to have gotten the clean sheet with us up 2-0 late. Overall, I'm happy with the performance. We had some guys come off the bench and give good performances so it was overall, a good team win." - head coach
Ryan Anatol.
UP NEXT
The Seawolves return to the pitch on Tuesday, taking on Columbia in a non-conference matchup at 7 p.m., in New York City before going back to league play on Saturday with a road trip to Elon.
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