The Hofstra University Women’s Soccer team kicked off their season and the Hofstra sports calendar with a 2-1 win over St. Joseph’s University on Thursday, Aug. 14. Hofstra continued their unbeaten streak in the season openers as they possess a 6-0-1 mark in opening contests in their last seven seasons.
Standard opening-game jitters and rust were apparent at times for both the Pride and Hawks, but Hofstra head coach Simon Riddiough was pleased with the team’s overall performance.
“Typical first game of the season, I thought in spells we were fantastic,” Riddiough said.
The Hawks capitalized on an early Hofstra miscue. Olivia Pearse, returning from an injury that kept her out of all but three games last season, mishandled a pass and directed the ball right to Emily Hanrahan, forward for the Hawks. Hanrahan took advantage of the open space and fired a shot off the right hand of the leaping Hofstra goaltender Lilly Bailey and into the net. St. Joseph’s took a 1-0 lead just under 20 minutes into the match and maintained the lead into the second half.
This was Bailey’s first game on Hofstra’s team. The sophomore transfer from Morehead State University wasn’t tested much after the initial goal but turned away the one other shot she did face. In her freshman season, Bailey rocked a .792 save percentage and a 6-6-5 record.
“[Bailey] was practically flawless,” Riddiough said. “She did everything possible to keep the ball out [on the first goal] … I’m really happy with her performance, she’s really athletic and I think she’s got a bright future here at Hofstra.”
Despite the 1-0 deficit, Hofstra controlled the first half, outshooting St. Joseph’s 10-1. The onslaught continued in the second half, with the Pride outshooting the Hawks 12-1. Hofstra’s dominance finally paid dividends 15 minutes into the half. Pearse redeemed her turnover by heading the ball home off a long pass from Gabriella Marte who sent a free kick deep into the middle of the 18-yard box. Pearse read it perfectly, using a small amount of open space to gain enough leverage to direct the ball into the net.
The Hawks withstood Hofstra’s offense for nearly the remainder of the match and mounted a couple of counterattacks of their own. Despite the tense back and forth, the teams entered the final minute still knotted at a goal apiece. With 10 seconds to go, Margaret Peterson brought the ball into the attacking side of the field and sent the ball deep. The pass was pinpoint, splitting the defense and finding Hailey Moschitta in the 18-yard box. The sophomore placed her header perfectly, picking the top right corner and burying the goal, giving Hofstra the lead and the win with five seconds left.
“At the end, good teams find a way to win,” Riddiough said. “We thought that we’d take a tie at this stage with 30 seconds left, but God bless [Peterson] to put in that little extra effort and put a great ball in.”
Despite the last-second heroics, the game was marred by injury. Ava Lanfredi left the game due to injury in the first half and was seen with crutches on the sideline. Her status is not known at the time.
The Pride also had issues with cramping at times during the game. Several stoppages were needed due to players needing to be helped off the field for a moment for rest or water.
“That’s probably a lack of preparation from our players, we’re a senior-laden team, they should know better at this stage,” Riddiough said. “We had five or six players cramping up … I addressed that with them; we need to be more professional.”
The Pride continue their non-conference slate in the upcoming weeks with their first Coastal Athletic Association match-up set for Sept. 18 against Elon University.
