By By David Gibb and Max Sass

This past weekend saw the Women’s Soccer Team maintain their .500 record, earning a split in their two weekend match-ups.
In spite of a day-long rain storm that continued into Friday night, the Pride had a spectacular match against the then-25th-ranked Indiana Hoosiers at the Hofstra Soccer Stadium. Hofstra took a 2-1 lead, powered by forward Salma Tarik’s second goal of the young season and forward Kayla Pifer’s first. The Pride dominated the first half of the game against the Big Ten power, and was able to hold their lead for almost 89 minutes thanks to terrific goalkeeping from junior Krysten Farriella.
With only 1:12 remaining in regulation, however, Indiana’s Christie Kotynski netted a heart-breaking, game-tying goal to send the game to overtime. Kotynski asserted herself again in double-overtime, drilling a shot from 30 yards out to defeat the Pride. For her trouble, the Indiana star was named to CollegeSoccer360.com’s “Primetime Performers List,” and helped her Hoosiers leapfrog to the Number 22 spot in the rankings.
The game was the second overtime contest (netting three total periods) the Hofstra women’s soccer team has participated in thus far this season. The first came in their season opener, a 2-1 victory at the University of Richmond in which Pride midfielder Courtney Breen hit the game-winner in the first overtime period.
Despite their Friday night loss, the Pride rebounded well on Sunday afternoon as they captured a 3-2 win over Harvard. Junior Salma Tarik was in the spotlight once again, as she scored her team-leading third goal of the year and also made her second assist, setting up freshman Danielle Murino’s first career goal for the Pride.
Caroline Albanese forced one across for the Harvard Crimson to make the score 2-1 in favor of Hofstra with ten minutes left to go in regulation. Only a minute later, though, Hofstra forward Salma Tarik asserted herself again, drawing a foul that resulted in a penalty kick for senior Diane Caldwell. Caldwell nailed the kick, netting the Pride a crucial insurance goal.
Once again, within a single minute, Caldwell’s clutch kick proved key when Harvard’s Lizzy Nichols scored off a corner kick for the Crimson. Nichols’ 83rd minute goal ended the scoring for the game, however, with the Pride taking the victory 3-2. For her role in the game and her two-goal weekend, Salma Tarik was named the GoHofstra.com Student-Athlete of the Week.
The victory made the Pride 2-1 against Ivy League opponents this season, a mark the team has a chance to improve upon at 7p.m. Friday night, in their final non-conference contest of the year against Columbia at the Hofstra Soccer Stadium.
Columbia will roll into Hempstead at 2-2, but are riding a two-game winning streak. After starting 0-2, the Lions defeated Manhattan College and then broke out for three goals against Iona. Sophie Reiser has been Columbia’s standout this year, having scored four of the team’s eight overall goals.
After Friday’s final non-conference game, the women’s soccer team will rest until they travel to Newark, DE for a match against the University of Delaware next Thursday. The game will kick off the 11-game CAA Conference stretch that will occupy the remainder of the team’s regular season schedule. Thus far, Delaware have a non-conference record of 2-1-1 compared to the Pride’s 3-3.
 

Diane Caldwell in action. (Photo courtesy of gohofstra.com)