By Jared Goodman - Special to the Chronicle
In a game that featured the Pride and the CAA-leading Northeastern Huskies, the Pride women’s soccer team managed to pull out the victory in a tight 1-0 win.
Coming into the game, the Huskies (9-3-2) stood at a perfect 4-0 in CAA conference play. Holding a five-game winning streak, the Pride was able to snap it.
“We knew it was going to be a tough battle,” said head coach Simon Riddiough. “Northeastern is a very good, athletic team.”
The first half was close, but neither team was able to create a lead, as both teams only generated one shot on goal.
However, the Pride almost managed to create a quick lead. In the 7th minute, senior Sam Scolarici fed junior Leah Galton a great through ball that left her with only the goalie to beat.
Galton’s attempt to get the ball by Husky goalie Paige Burnett was turned away by a sliding save. That proved to be the one and only chance for the Pride as the game went to halftime.
“Their goalkeeper is a beast… there’s no secret there. Nine out of 10 times that’s a goal,” Riddiough said of Burnett.
The story of the game was defense. Coming into the contest, Northeastern had five consecutive shutouts and did not allow a goal through the first four conference games.
However, the Pride’s potent offense, which came into the game with a CAA conference-leading 32 goals on the season, was able to add to that tally in the 64th minute.
After a crossed ball by junior Chloe Dale, junior Jeannine Molleda was able to chip the ball to freshman Emily Hulbert, who used her head to put the ball into the bottom right corner of the goal.
The goal proved to be enough for the victory. Hofstra’s defense was able to hold the Huskies scoreless through Galton’s effort late in the game at defensive center back.
When asked about Galton’s defensive position, Coach Riddiough said, “We put her at center back. We told her at halftime if we held the lead we were going to put her back there. She put it upon herself to make sure this team didn’t beat us. She was awesome.”
The Pride defense kept goalie Friederike Mehring mostly inactive, as she only needed to make one save on the night. But, the Huskies were on the offensive more often than Hofstra, as their total shots doubled the Pride’s 12-6.
“I thought we were kind of feeling a bit sorry for ourselves [before the game] due to all the injuries but I think today showed us that we can still compete,” said Riddiough.
With the victory, the Pride moved to 8-6 on the season with a 3-2 CAA conference record. The Pride will play at the College of Charleston on the road at 7:00 p.m. on Friday.
