By Kyle Kandetzki – SPORTS EDITOR
It took 13 more minutes than they had hoped, but an OT victory means the Pride is back above .500
The Hofstra Women’s Soccer team defeated Yale in double-overtime on Friday in their opening game at the Yale Invitational, 5-4. Jeannine Molleda was the hero in the 103rd minute, sending in a Kristin Desmond pass to advance to 3-2 this season.
Things got started quickly in New Haven, when the Bulldogs put the first shot of the game past goalie Friederike Mehring 58 seconds in. This set the tone for a very offensive affair.
The Pride responded less than seven minutes later, and with who else but Leah Galton, sending in a shot from ten yards out to even the score. Jenn Buoncore delivered Galton the assist, her first point with Hofstra.
But Yale came back strong, scoring with three minutes to go in the first half, and three minutes into the second, pulling ahead 3-1. At the 48-minute mark, Yale had only taken five shots, but their success rate was high.
On the other end, Hofstra was shooting often, but not converting well until the 50th minute, where the Pride began a streak of scoring three times unanswered, started by Desmond, who sent home a corner kick by Mallory Ullrich.
The equalizer then came in the 63rd by freshman Madeline Anderson, now the sole first-year player to score this year. This one was again from the accurate foot of Ullrich, off yet another corner kick.
And finally Hofstra took the lead when Katie Gerdes scored from eight yards out off of a Galton pass in the 71st, Gerdes’ second of her Pride career.
But the celebration wouldn’t last long, as Hofstra’s fortunes went downhill in the 79th when Galton was hit with a red card for a controversial tackle, leaving her team to fend with just ten women for the final minutes of the match. Hofstra held strong despite being down a player until the final moments.
With just 77 seconds left in regulation, Yale’s Sofia Griff sent a deep shot towards Mehring, a shot that hit the right post, hit the back of Mehring, and found its way into the net, a nightmarish play for the veteran goalie, who only made two saves on the day, and sending the game to OT.
The first overtime period went quietly for both sides, requiring just one save from both goalies.
But in the final period, Hofstra put pressure on Yale’s defense, earning a corner and two shots before the game-ending play.
In the 103rd, Desmond took the ball just outside of the goalie box and gave the ball backward and centered to Molleda with just one player to beat, and sent the ball into the left side of the net for the win.
Hofstra put the pressure on Yale all day, shooting 23 times, but struggled to convert at times, while the Bulldogs only took ten shots on the day. To add to Hofstra’s chances, they earned 12 corner kicks.
