Hofstra Advances Past Drexel On PK's

11/10/2012 4:58:00 AM

PHILADELPHIA, Pa. (November 9, 2012) - Fourth-seeded Hofstra advanced past top-seeded Drexel 4-3 on penalty kicks after the two teams battled to a 1-1 double-overtime draw in the semifinals of the CAA Men's Soccer Championship on Friday evening at Vidas Field in Philadelphia.

Hofstra (11-5-4) will face second-seeded Northeastern for the CAA championship on Sunday at 2 p.m. It's the fifth trip to the title game in nine years for the Pride, which won three consecutive CAA crowns from 2004-06 but lost in the finals in 2010.

CAA regular-season champion Drexel is now 12-3-3 overall after the tie and will await a potential at-large berth to the NCAA Men's Soccer Championship.

Hofstra, which advanced past #5 George Mason 5-3 on penalty kicks after a 0-0 tie in the quarterfinals of the CAA Tournament, rallied from a 3-2 deficit in PK's against Drexel. Pride senior goalkeeper Adam Janowski, who finished the match with a career-high 10 saves, made a critical stop in the fourth round of kicks that kept his team alive. Hofstra's Chris Griebsch and Stephan Barea then connected on back-to-back kicks while the Dragons saw their final two attempts go over the crossbar and off the crossbar.

After having a pair of quality scoring chances denied on excellent saves by Janowski early in the first half, Drexel broke through with the game's first goal in the 26^th minute. A failed clear by a Pride defender came out to the Dragons' Fabio Machado. The sophomore dribbled into the right side of the box and fired a low 15-yard shot into the left corner of the net for his fourth goal of the year.

The Dragons had a chance to extend their lead with 13:09 remaining, but Janowski came up big again for the Pride. Drexel's Mark Donohue was fouled in the box resulting in a penalty kick. However, Nathan Page's low shot was smothered on a diving stop by the senior goalkeeper.

Less than two minutes later, Hofstra got the equalizer. Griebsch sent a nice cross into the box from the left side. Junior Maid Memic was able to control the pass in front of the net and connected on a 10-yard shot into the upper left corner of the net in the 79^th minute. The goal was Memic's team-leading ninth of the season.

Drexel had the best scoring opportunity in the two overtime sessions. With just over three minutes left in the second overtime, Page crossed the ball into the box to Michele Pataia, but his 10-yard shot drifted wide left of the open net.

Drexel finished with a 27-19 advantage in shots, including seven by Machado. Dragons' goalkeeper Tim Washam turned in a strong performance with eight saves.