For the second season in a row, the Hofstra University women’s soccer team played to a hard-fought draw with Loyola University Maryland. This time, the two teams failed to find the back of the net, playing to a scoreless draw for 90 minutes on Saturday, Sept. 6.
The scoreless finish brought both the Pride and Greyhounds to 3-2-1 on the season.
The Pride entered the game after nine days off, following a 2-2 draw to Fairleigh Dickinson University (FDU) – a draw that Simon Riddiough, Hofstra’s head coach, was not too pleased about.
“I’ve got probably ten players on that field who swear that they want to be professionals, I didn’t see one player tonight who was a professional,” Riddiough said on Aug. 28, following the tie. “This team’s got a lot of talent, and they’re talented enough to have a really successful season, but we’re right now underperforming.”
Throughout the long break, the team responded.
“I’ve got to give them credit, whenever I throw a challenge down, they work,” Riddiough said. “They’re not taking things personally. They accept responsibility and accountability and that’s all you can ask.”
Despite the draw, the Pride played a solid match.
“I was quite happy with the performance; all the girls applied themselves really well,” Riddiough said. “A lot of good positives from individual players, I can’t ask for much more than what this team did today.”
Despite Hofstra controlling the ball for over 70% of the first half, they only registered two shots on goal. Loyola goalkeeper Hannah Goetzer made a routine save on a shot from Aimee Hodgson outside the 18-yard box with just over 15 minutes remaining.
Polly Watson and Hodgson controlled the midfield all afternoon. Watson, who was critiqued by Riddiough a couple of weeks ago for not living up to expectations, has since become a force both defensively and offensively. She scored a goal against FDU and forced several turnovers over the last two matches, both of which she played over 90 minutes.
“Polly [Watson] and [Aimee Hodgson] were very good again,” Riddiough said. “Tonight we changed a couple of things, and they really controlled the middle of the field.”
As the first half ticked down, Gabriella Marte sent a long-range shot onto the net. Her last-ditch effort to give the Pride a goal before halftime was rejected by Goetzer, who leapt into the air and punched the ball over the net as the halftime buzzer sounded.
Things evened up in the second half; the Greyhounds recorded six shots after being held off the sheet in the first 45 minutes. Only one made its way to the net: Loyola’s Taryn Buckley tried to deflect a pass into the net, but Lilly Bailey, who kept the first clean sheet of her Hofstra career, rose to the threat and stifled the Loyola reserve player. Goetzer made a save in the second half as well, robbing Carly-Ann Dziewirz from close range.
The Pride had other chances in the half, like when Olivia Pearse set up for a free kick just outside the 18-yard box but just missed the shot wide. Free kicks and set pieces were Riddiough’s one complaint for the team on Saturday.
“My biggest criticism tonight was set-piece situations. We usually and traditionally are excellent at set pieces,” Riddiough said. “I thought we wasted three, four, maybe five opportunities without getting a shot on goal or numbers in the box.”
The Pride’s last opportunity came with about a minute left, when they earned their third corner kick of the second half. But the Greyhounds’ defense – which has only allowed four goals through seven games thus far – stood tall yet again, not allowing a shot on goal, bleeding the clock out and ending the game knotted at no goals aside.
Next up for the Pride was a Rhode contest, specifically an away tilt with Brown University. The match was scheduled for Thursday, Sept. 11, at 7 p.m.
