By Kyle Kandetzki – SPORTS EDITOR
5. WBB Upsets #23 JMU
As the CAA women’s basketball season wound down, it seemed as if the 14-0 James Madison Dukes were going to cruise to a CAA title. They eventually would, but not without one hiccup along the way. The Pride came to JMU’s home court, forced them to shoot 33 percent, and handed them their lone conference loss with a score of 63-62, despite the Dukes being ranked No. 23 in the nation.
4. Agudelo Sends WSOC to CAA Title Game
There may not have been a more dynamic duo in Hofstra sports this year than Leah Galton and Sam Scolarici. But with Scolarici on the way out, it was Simon Riddiough’s final chance to earn her and Galton their second CAA Title. They fell in a game dominated by Northeastern in the CAA championship game, but what transpired the day before was a huge thrill for the program. The semifinal game pitted the Pride vs. James Madison University, and the game was a barnburner, with each team going back-and-forth blow-for-blow, leading to a tie, 3-3 in the final 10 minutes. Scolarici or Galton had the first three scores, so when Emily Agudelo prepared for a free kick from 45 yards out, everyone expected a pass. But instead the sophomore let out a blast from nearly midfield that flew past the Dukes goalie for the go-ahead score, only her second of the season. Surprises came in all sizes this year, and Agudelo, a defensive midfielder, proved to be one of the biggest.
3. Baseball Sends Blowout to Extras with 13-run Rally
All other games on this list involve wins, but this loss can’t be ignored because it was such a ridiculous result. Hofstra’s baseball team entered the ninth inning against Towson down 16-3, a game that was clearly over. But the Pride scored 13 runs to tie it up at 16-16, but they couldn’t finish it off with a groundout with runners on first and second. It went to the 10th inning where things somehow got crazier. Towson posted four in the 10th, and Hofstra still was not done. The Pride brought in three runs to make it 20-19, and a walk off win seemed imminent but a strikeout with a runner on second ended it. The game was a heartbreaker in many ways, but the ninth inning stats are still insane to look at: 13 runs, 9 hits, 6 walks, 18 at bats, and four Towson pitchers.
2. VB Tames Charleston to Win CAA Championship
No team on campus this year showed as much prowess and domination over opponents as the volleyball team, and even more impressive was first-year head coach Emily Mansur. The squad cruised to a 26-5 regular season record, and won their CAA semifinal matchup in straight sets, but what lay ahead of them was their kryptonite: the College of Charleston. The team had just fallen to the Cougars, 3-2, nine days earlier, and they had to win on Charleston’s home floor. Just as their previous matchups had gone, the CAA title game would go to a decisive fifth set, after Charleston seemed to take over momentum battling back from a 2-0 hole. But Hofstra finally established their dominance – something they hadn’t done all season in 14 closely-matched sets, winning the championship set 15-8. Coach Mansur said with a huge smile on her face, “Oh my God… this is like a perfect Cinderella story.”
1. Nesmith Hits Game-Winner in Long Island Rivalry Revival
It had been several years since Long Island’s most notorious colleges have battled each other on the hardwood, and the electricity in the Mack Sports Complex showed fans were ready to find out who was truly “Long Island’s team.” The Pride men’s basketball team trailed by as much as seven points with under five minutes to go, but Hofstra’s three-point shooting prowess closed the gap to give them a one-point lead with 33 seconds to go. But Stony Brook’s Jameel Warney – the sixth best rebounder in all of college basketball – continued to bully the Hofstra frontcourt to put the Pride on the brink with an easy inside basket. Hofstra had nine seconds to eliminate a one-point deficit and it wouldn’t be Juan’ya Green or Ameen Tanksley, but the experienced grad-student Dion Nesmith pulling up from the free-throw line, winning the heart-pounding rivalry game with one second to go. Any one of the 2,726 people at the Mack that night was treated to one of the most electric Hofstra environments in recent memory.
AFTER PRINT HONORABLE MENTION: Hofstra Softball’s 11th CAA Title came after the printing of our final issue, but should also be honored among the biggest moments this year.
