The Hofstra University women’s soccer team struggled against Monmouth University, spoiling an early lead and falling 2-1 on Sunday, Oct. 5. The Pride moved to 1-1-3 in conference play and dropped below the Hawks in the Coastal Athletic Association (CAA) North standings. Monmouth sit in second place with a 3-2 conference record.
Chloe Messer found the back of the net for the Hawks with two minutes of play left. The game-winning goal was Messer’s second in the last two games. She had the only goal of the game against Drexel University on Thursday, Oct. 2, as well.
Monmouth’s offense was unafraid to fire off shots; They compiled 23 shots on the day, and just six were on goal. The Pride took 10 shots, and five of them were on target. Both goalkeepers, Hofstra’s Lilly Bailey and Monmouth’s Tallulah Miller, held it down in net and tallied four saves.
Manon Lebargy was the centerfold of Hofstra’s offense, notching six shots and finding the back of the net for the lone Pride goal in the seventh mark.
Hofstra had control early and struck first. Sasha McTiffin’s pass was broken up in the middle of the 18-yard box, but she regained possession of the ball. The Pride used a great bit of teamwork, passing the ball around in the buildup to the goal, bouncing from McTiffin to Polly Watson and Aimee Hodgson before making its way to Gabriella Marte. Marte took a touch before booting the ball into the middle of the box to find a leaping Lebargy. Lebargy perfectly headed the ball over Miller and into the net to put the Pride up 1-0 early.
Monmouth fought to find the equalizer throughout the first, taking nine shots, but were unsuccessful until the second half. In the 66th minute, the Pride broke up a pass in the center of the 18-yard box. It deflected off multiple players before finding Summer Reimet right in front of the post. Reimet did not make great contact with the ball and softly tapped it toward the goal. Bailey swooped in and knocked the ball back before it crossed the line. Emily De Almeida crashed on the rebound and kicked the ball over Bailey for her second goal of the season to knot the score at 1-1.
Monmouth stayed on the attack and kept the Pride silent for the final 25 minutes. The Hawks fired off 14 shots in the second half alone. Monmouth’s offensive push in the second proved successful in the final minutes of the game. Messer came through in the clutch for her second game-winner in the past two games. The ball pinballed off the head of two Hofstra defenders until Messer undercut the ball for a perfect, clean kick just over the hand of a diving Bailey.
Scrambling with just two minutes left of play, Lebargy fought for the equalizer. She took a shot from the left side to the middle of the goal, and Miller punched it out of harm’s way.
The Pride look to bounce back against a CAA North opponent at Drexel University on Sunday, Oct. 12. Game time is set for 1 p.m.
