The UNC Wilmington men’s soccer team won a thrilling match Saturday night against the Hofstra Pride. The Seahawks won 3-2 on a goal scored by Michael Recchia with six seconds left in the game. Coach Aidan Heaney was very pleased with his team’s performance late in the game.

“It was really an outstanding play by Jamie Dell,” said Coach Heaney. “He was able to get into the box, and he fed Michael the ball so that he could get it in. At that point, it was sheer determination to get that ball in at the last moment.”

The Seahawks got on the offensive early in the game but missed three crucial opportunities to score. By the end of the game, they doubled the amount of shots taken by Hofstra 18-9. The weather forecast showed lightning in the area, but it was the Seahawks who struck first by coming away with a goal in the 15th minute by a header off of Jacob VanCompernolle, assisted by a long pass from junior defender Michael Parrish.

UNCW’s defense played solid in the first 15 minutes of the game, not allowing Hofstra to take a single shot. The first half ended with UNCW on top 1-0. Freshman goalie Sam Williams showed leadership by communicating with the defense on the field. It seemed to work, consider that Hofstra took only two shots on offense.

“I got all my nerves out in the last game,” said Williams. “So I felt pretty good coming in tonight, and I was ready to go. I was able to get our defense organized. I told them to get the back line ready for forwards making free runs and make sure that our defenders were aware of any attacking players coming in.”

In the 67th minute, Hofstra scored a goal with a free kick from Chris Griebsch. From near the sideline, Griebsch curved it into the top left corner of the goal out of from the goalie’s reach.

Freshman midfielder Nathaniel Goodwin scored a goal off of a cross from Etienne Boulanger in the 82nd minute to retake the lead 2-1. Hofstra almost responded immediately, but goalie Williams bravely charged forward and stopped the shot. Right after freshman UNCW midfielder Michael Mecham committed a yellow card, Hofstra scored another goal off of another free kick. Joseph Holland delivered a pass to Shaun Foster, who scored the goal in the 87th minute to tie it up again 2-2.

With only six seconds left in the game, senior defender Recchia, scored the game-winning goal in the heart of the penalty box. Jamie Dell, Colin Bonner and Recchia all scrambled for the ball, but it was Recchia who never gave up and came away with the game winner.    

“We were very good in the first half,” said Heaney. “But when it came to the second half, our guys were dealing with high pressure to win the game and finish it strong. I felt like we could ease up on our pressure by passing the ball a little bit more in the second half. We showed really great character coming back after Hofstra tied with us twice in the game.”

For Williams, it was his first conference home game as a starter, and he won praises from his head coach.

“Sam had a good performance, and I think he was disappointed with that first goal scored against him,” said Heaney. “But he’s a young guy who’s got to deal with some tough situations and overall I’m very pleased with him. I have a feeling he’s going to be a good one.”

UNCW notched its first conference win Saturday night and their fourth overall this season. Next, they travel to William & Mary on Oct. 3 for their third conference game of the season.