By Bob Bonett
On a weekend of essential conference match-ups, the injury-plagued Lady Pride failed to take either of two road games against some of the Colonial Athletic Association’s best.
The Pride, already missing four starters from the previous season, in addition to losing starting midfielder Diane Caldwell to the Irish Under-19 team in a game against Slovakia, started three walk-ons this weekend in addition to playing two off the bench.
The lack of experience may have best explained why Hofstra was held scoreless over the weekend series, culminating in a 1-0 loss at Old Dominion on a rebound by Elizabeth Brewster (11-1, 3-1 CAA) on Sunday. This loss came two days after the Pride fell by the same score to No. 16 William & Mary (9-1-1, 3-0) on Friday.
Despite the field full of walk-on players and rookie goaltender Krysten Farriella in net, the Hofstra defense managed to remain strong. Anchored by All-American back Sue Weber, the Pride (6-5-1, 2-2) allowed only one goal to ODU at the 72:10 mark, showing once again that penetrating the Pride defense is a tough job, regardless of a team’s ability.
“We really did not give Old Dominion any real opportunities to score,” Weber said. “We played organized soccer, very well defensively and unfortunately allowed that one goal to get by. Other than that the defense played great.”
A testament to this defense was seen not only on the scoreboard, but also through the few shots that Old Dominion managed to get on goal.
After putting only three shots on net in the first half, (all saved by Farriella), Brewster managed ODU’s only second half shot, a rebound in the Hofstra penalty area, for her second career goal and first of the season.
Despite this all-star defense, the Hofstra offense was simply unable to mount any type of scoring attempt. While the box score may have shown three Pride shots, only two found their way on goal, and were both saved by impressive ODU goalkeeper Colby Owen.
Statistically, the Pride did compete with ODU. Hofstra’s 13 shots were only three less than Old Dominion tallied, while the Pride managed to gain a 6-1 advantage on corner kicks.
However, for rookie coach Simon Riddiough, the statistics did not necessarily denote impressive play by Hofstra, but more missed opportunities. “We played well in the first half, but as the game went on we played more sloppy,” Riddiough said. “We missed a few key opportunities and that led to the loss.”
Some good points could be taken for Hofstra over the weekend, though. The first of which was the first return from injury for the Pride this season, as sophomore defender Kristine Suapengo, the team’s top reserve from the previous season, debuted Friday against the Tribe, coming back early from an injury to help the decimated Pride’s road to recovery.
In addition to Suapengo’s return, Hofstra proved it could play with the CAA’s best. Old Dominion and William & Mary both gained notoriety as the conference’s teams to beat entering the season, and the Pride showed that even while short-handed on offense, the defense still managed to keep the games close.
Old Dominion coach Joe Pereira sang Hofstra’s praises following the game.
“Each team played typical CAA Sunday soccer with sloppy game play,” Pereira said. “However, despite this, Hofstra will definitely be a threat come playoff time. They have been a power since they entered this conference, and will be a team to look out for despite their injuries by the end of the season.”
Next up for the Pride will be a return to the friendly confines of Hofstra Soccer Stadium to face Georgia State at 7 p.m. on Friday night. The team will look to rebound from the consecutive losses and reaffirm themselves at the top of the conference, perhaps renewing the scoring attack with Irish superstar Caldwell returning from her national team trip.
Marie Curtin and the Pride fell to .500 in CAA conference play.