By Stacy Troiano
The second conference weekend was a mighty test for head coach Simon Riddiough and his Pride. After suffering only their second loss of the season on Friday against William and Mary, Hofstra bounced back with a 1-0 win over last year’s CAA champion Old Dominion on Sunday at Hofstra Soccer Stadium.
With the win, the Pride improve to 9-2 overall and 3-1 in the conference, a clip that Riddiough says he is okay with.
“Overall I’m not too upset with the record of 3-1,” he said. “Obviously we would’ve liked to get the win versus William and Mary, but it wasn’t meant to be. But again the ability to bounce back and dominate the CAA champs from last year says a lot about this team.”
Dominate they did, as the slim victory margin does not exemplify the story of the game. The Pride controlled play throughout the entire game, holding a 26-5 edge in shots and a 7-0 advantage in corner kicks. Some of that slow offense is credited to Monarch goalkeeper Lauren Tupman, who had 11 saves to keep the aggressive Hofstra offense out of the net for most of the game.
The Pride out shot ODU 13-4 in the first half but were unable to capitalize on a number of chances inside the penalty area. Sophomore midfielder Diane Caldwell had two good looks at the net in the first half, but Tupman was there each time. Freshman Kayla Pifer was there to follow Caldwell’s second try, but her rebound sailed just over the crossbar from eight yards out.
Sophomore forward Jill Lipari got in on the first half chances as well, as she cracked a one-timer from inside the six yard box but couldn’t get past Tupman. The Monarch goalie also had a sprawling save on a shot from freshman forward Qaroline Nahl from the top of the box. Nahl finished the Pride barrage of shots with a good look in the closing minutes of the first half, but her 12-yarder flew just high.
Old Dominion’s only good look in the first half came when Shavon Knight got behind the Hofstra defense and took a shot from the right side, but Pride goalie Krystal Robens made a diving save to her right to keep the game scoreless in the first half.
Hofstra would finally break through with 30:20 left in the game, as senior forward Larkin Hargraves sent a cross into the box for senior Brooke DeRosa, who was able to head the ball just past Tupman and into the left side of the net to put the Pride up 1-0.
The goal was DeRosa’s seventh of the year to go with her five assists for a CAA best 19 points on the season.
“Brooke’s got this uncanny ability to be in the right spot at the right time, and when that happens, good things are going to happen,” Riddiough said. “But everybody’s doing their part. If someone’s not creating that opportunity or giving her that chance, she isn’t going to score.”
Hofstra had a chance to seal the game in the 69th minute, as midfielder Edel Malone took a penalty kick that banged off the post, and a Pride rebound effort was deflected out by a Monarch defender.
Old Dominion would only get off one shot in the second half, as Robens finished with three saves for her fourth shutout of the season.
Hofstra averages almost 16 shots per game, and with the chances there, Riddiough believes they will start to find the net more often.
“Although the score was 1-0, the manner of play was pretty convincing. It could’ve been easily four or five,” Riddiough said. “It’s just a matter of time. I’d be more concerned if we didn’t create chances. The fact that we are creating chances shows that we are dominating quite a few teams; it’s just a matter of finishing those chances. When you don’t create chances, that’s when you start worrying.”
The Pride are set to continue conference play this weekend, as they travel to Georgia State and UNC-Wilmington for contests on Friday and Sunday.
“It’s a tough trip,” Riddiough said. “Both teams present a different challenge for us, and both teams are extremely athletic. Hopefully we can negate their athleticism and allow our soccer to talk. If we do, we’ll win both games.”
The Pride are currently sitting at fourth in the CAA after the first two weekends of play, but the top four teams are separated by just one game, with Virginia Commonwealth leading the conference at 4-0.
“The level of competition has increased from last year; everybody’s gotten better,” Riddiough said. “As the season progresses, we’ve just got to make sure we handle our business and hopefully things will go our way.”
Sue Weber (handling the ball) and the Hofstra defense were virtually inpenetrable in shutting out Old Dominion one game after their first conference loss of the season. (Merab Okeyo)