Goals from Kelly Levengood and Jaime Lewis were enough to drive the Hofstra University field hockey team past William & Mary University in Coastal Athletic Conference (CAA) play on Friday, Oct 24. The Pride’s victory keeps their CAA Championship hopes alive.
Freshman goalkeeper Luci Hollister got the start for the Pride. She made six saves for a shutout victory.
Junior goalkeeper Alexandra de Jesus started for the Tribe and made twelve saves while allowing two goals.
Hofstra started the game on the right foot with Pilar Penaloza striking the post and Adrianna Losiak forcing a save from de Jesus less than 90 seconds into the game.
William & Mary would get their first chance of the game from a penalty corner about five and a half minutes into the first quarter. Josie Mae Gruendel inserted, but the Tribe weren’t able to get a shot on net.
Hofstra started the second quarter almost the same way they started the first, with Lewis forcing de Jesus to make a save less than 30 seconds into the second frame.
The Pride continued putting on the pressure, earning a penalty corner less than two minutes into the second quarter. Teresa Karoff inserted, but the Pride were unable to get a shot off.
William & Mary earned their second penalty corner of the game over five minutes into the second. Gruendel inserted the ball; Lewis blocked a shot from Emme Schwartz and the Tribe earned a second penalty corner. Gruendel inserted again, and Schwartz forced Hollister to make two saves in quick succession to keep the score tied at zero.
About a minute after William & Mary had their flurry of chances, Hofstra earned a penalty corner of their own. Kristi Santos inserted and the ball found the stick of Jamie McMillan, forcing de Jesus to make a kick save.
Hofstra earned another penalty corner about a minute after their previous chance, and Santos inserted again. The ball found the stick of Julia Böcker who passed to McMillan. McMillian then took a shot that made its way to the endline, but Mackinzie Brown cleared the ball off the line, keeping the Pride scoreless.
Hofstra drew another penalty corner. Santos inserted for the third time, the ball found the stick of Gwenn van Dijk, whose shot forced de Jesus to make a save. As Hofstra retained possession van Dijk found the ball on her stick and passed it to Levengood, who put the ball past de Jesus, putting the Pride up 1-0.
Hofstra earned their fifth corner of the quarter about three minutes after scoring. Kesia Richardson inserted, and the ball found van Dijk’s stick. She took a shot that de Jesus pushed aside. McMillan took two more shots in quick succession, both were shut down by de Jesus.
Hofstra earned a penalty corner about less than two minutes into the second half. Richardson inserted, and the ball found Mc Millan’s stick, forcing de Jesus to make a save. McMillan and Levengood would combine on two more shots that weren’t able to beat de Jesus.
The final opportunity of the third period came from a William & Mary penalty corner where Gruendel inserted the ball to Amelia Morgan. Morgan’s shot forced Hollister to make a leaping save, and the ball fell to Erin Griffin, who Hollister denied.
The Tribe saw their first opportunity of the fourth quarter on penalty corner. Gruendel inserted, and the ball landed on the stick of Schwartz, but Hollister made a lunging save to deny the shot.
The Tribe turned the ball over in the penalty circle as Penaloza picked the ball off from an errant touch. She squared the ball over to Lewis who defeated de Jesus in the bottom left corner to double the Pride’s lead.
The Pride finishes up their regular season on Friday, Oct. 31, against they face Towson University. If the Pride win, they clinch their first top-four finish in the CAA since 2015. Game time from Cindy Lewis Stadium is set for 3 p.m.
