The Hofstra University women’s soccer team broke their streak of seven consecutive draws with a 2-0 win over Northeastern University on Thursday, Oct. 2, to improve to 1-0-3 in Coastal Athletic Association (CAA) play, along with a total 4-1-7 record. The Huskies fell to 0-3-1 in Association play and 1-7-4 overall.
Despite a slow first 20 minutes, the Pride’s offense woke up after several sluggish performances since late August,.
“The first 20 [minutes] I thought we were a bit soft and didn’t come out playing fast,” said Hofstra head coach Simon Riddiough. “Then we just did a few things and from then on the game looked [to be] in our control.”
In her return from injury on Sept. 28, Millie Davies logged 30 minutes off the bench, registering two shots on goal. The star midfielder came off the bench once again on Thursday night, this time playing 53 minutes and finding the scoresheet by assisting Olivia Pearse’s second-half goal.
“There’s no doubt when you watch the first 10 minutes of her being on the field, she was the best player on the field,” Riddiough said. “She’s a special player and we missed that over the last month…When we need somebody to take control of the game, she does it. When we need somebody to break things up, she does it.”
While Gabriella Marte was her usual stellar self defensively, she also helped to get the offense going. With just under six minutes to go, she barely missed her first goal of the season, ripping a shot off the top crossbar. Thorhildur Thorhallsdottir finished the job, moving towards the rebound and heading it into the back of the net for her first goal of the season.
After a first half that saw Hofstra outshoot the Huskies 8-3, the second stanza was much more even, with Northeastern holding a slight edge in shots at 10-9 and both teams sending three shots on goal. Pride goalkeeper Lilly Bailey made four saves and kept her fifth clean sheet of the campaign. She made a diving stop on Bridget Gleason 18 minutes into the second half to keep Hofstra up 1-0.
“[Bailey] made a brilliant save … Northeastern did enough to get opportunities, [and] we didn’t deal with it very well,” Riddiough said. “[Bailey] in that moment saved the game.”
Hofstra’s lead stayed slim until the 80th minute, when Davies inserted a corner kick, which Pearse headed off the top right crossbar and past goalkeeper Eliza Teplow to seal the win.
“[Pearse] is brave, she’s consistent, she’s tough and aggressive and she’s going to get under those chances,” Riddiough said. “She got on it three or four times today; two went just over, one hit the crossbar and the third or fourth one went in the corner.”
Next up for the Pride was one of their deadliest foes: Monmouth University, which has eliminated them from the CAA tournament in two consecutive seasons. Game time was set for 1 p.m.
