Men's Soccer 2025

[Wags]

I have to say though it was pretty cool to be in the palestra watching the basketball game while following the soccer team in the NCAA tournament on the phone. Felt like a big time athletics program for a minute there.

Ha! Nice. Hope to see more days like that!

[Wags]

How about considering renaming the Hofstra Soccer Field for Coach Nuttall? There could be a name like, "Captain's Field at Nuttall Stadium." I think that might be an appropriate honor for the 37 seasons of Coach Nuttall.

Excellent idea. I hope they jump on something like this or something similar before the start of next season.

[HUSID74]

How about considering renaming the Hofstra Soccer Field for Coach Nuttall? There could be a name like, "Captain's Field at Nuttall Stadium." I think that might be an appropriate honor for the 37 seasons of Coach Nuttall.

Excellent idea. I hope they jump on something like this or something similar before the start of next season.

I would like to see this happen but they just named the pitch Captain's field a couple of years ago when it was renovated...we'll see.

[EvanJ]

This is as tough as it gets. Absolutely nothing at all to be ashamed of. Just heartbreaking to see them go out like this and to see Nuttall's Hofstra tenure end this way because they were SO close and it makes you wonder just how far they could've gone had they suvived the close PK round. Wish they could keep playing until someone scores in that scenario, even it means taking a few players off the field after a couple of OTs, or whatever could be done to make it more like real soccer instead of simply PKs. Such a bad way to end it, but I get it with soccer, because it could drag on forever without a goal. Still, imagine an NCAAT basketball game ending with a FT shooting contest instead of a bunch of OTs? Would be easier to take had they lost 3-0 but it's also easier to be even more proud of them than we already would've been to lose the way they did.

Four of the last eleven Men's Soccer Finals were decided by penalty kicks, and that is with golden goal that professional soccer does not have. Last year was the only one of those eleven decided by a golden goal. If it was a professional tournament, it is possible that Marshall would have scored, the teams would have scored the same amount in extra time, and it would have gone to penalty kicks. Italy beat France in penalty kicks to win World Cup 2006. It was 1-1 after 90 and nobody scored in 30 minutes of extra time (professional soccer plays 30 extra minutes, not 20).

The announcer pointed out other big differences between NCAA and professional soccer. Professor soccer does not allow players to re-enter the game. Professional soccer never has the clock stop, so it is an adjustment for me on the rare times I watch NCAA soccer. Professional soccer has stoppage time, nobody knows exactly when the game will end, and sometimes the referee will extend the game to allow an attack to continue. Somebody who watches NCAA soccer but not professional soccer, and then watches World Cup 2026 that USA will host three quarters of, will be surprised by the professional rules.

[EvanJ]

https://www.ncaa.com/video/soccer-men/2 ... rfinal-win has video of Furman's 45 yard goal for the only goal of the game at Portland. A defender got the ball to prevent Portland from a 3-on-0 attack, and got an assist from it. Furman went from winning penalty kicks to winning by a long goal. Furman is going to their first College Cup, and we have our second consecutive tournament with a loss to a College Cup team. Furman will play Washington in a Semifinal. The College Cup is in Cary, NC, and Google Maps says that is 4 hours 4 minutes away from Furman. The team can take a bus, their fans can drive, and Washington's flight will be longer than Furman's bus ride.

[Wags]

https://www.ncaa.com/video/soccer-men/2 ... rfinal-win has video of Furman's 45 yard goal for the only goal of the game at Portland. A defender got the ball to prevent Portland from a 3-on-0 attack, and got an assist from it. Furman went from winning penalty kicks to winning by a long goal. Furman is going to their first College Cup, and we have our second consecutive tournament with a loss to a College Cup team. Furman will play Washington in a Semifinal. The College Cup is in Cary, NC, and Google Maps says that is 4 hours 4 minutes away from Furman. The team can take a bus, their fans can drive, and Washington's flight will be longer than Furman's bus ride.

Wow, what a play. That should've been 1-0, Portland. Like the announcer said, a successful, list-ditch tackle saved what would've otherwise been a 3-on-none and a likely Portland goal the other way. And instead, it turns into that 45-yard blast, which was really something. Even the goalkeeper seemed surprised that it carried the way it did. Great play all around, turning defense into offense, finishing with that amazing shot.

Could Hofstra lose to the eventual national champion two straight years? There is now a very good chance of that. As you noted, Furman will be fairly close to the College Cup site and the College Cup is even crazier than last year, when unseeded Vermont beat 13-seed Marshall for the title. This year, the national title game will be 16-seed Furman or unseeded Washington against 15-seed NC State or unseeded Saint Louis.

[Jojogunne]

Congratulations to Laurie Goddard on becoming Hofstra's ninth United Soccer Coaches All-American:

https://gohofstra.com/news/2025/12/12/m ... aches.aspx

Our MSOC team and coaches have received several other awards as well:

https://gohofstra.com/news/2025/12/12/m ... -team.aspx

https://gohofstra.com/news/2025/12/9/me ... teams.aspx

https://gohofstra.com/news/2025/12/11/m ... eason.aspx

[EvanJ]

Furman, who beat us, lost a Semifinal 3-1 to Washington, who was away in the First Round, meaning that they won five games when they were not supposed to win any games. Late in the second Semifinal, North Carolina State leads Saint Louis 2-1. According to Google Maps, North Carolina State is 11 minutes from where the College Cup (Final Four) always is.

[Wags]

Furman, who beat us, lost a Semifinal 3-1 to Washington, who was away in the First Round, meaning that they won five games when they were not supposed to win any games. Late in the second Semifinal, North Carolina State leads Saint Louis 2-1. According to Google Maps, North Carolina State is 11 minutes from where the College Cup (Final Four) always is.

Unseeded vs. 13 seed for the title last year, unseeded vs. 15 seed for the title this year. Is there a more wide-open tournament for a championship than in men's soccer?

[Wags]

The men's soccer national championship has been thrilling in the second half. On ESPNU, two minutes left in regulation. 1-0, Washington at half, went up 2-0, NC State just tied it with a second goal with under four minutes left.
9:08 PM

[EvanJ]

Washington scored 1:54 into overtime to win. The Big Ten could be focused on the College Football Playoff and Men's Basketball with Michigan undefeated, but they should praise Washington's Men's Soccer also.