By Kevin Carroll — SPORTS EDITOR
Hofstra’s bid at a season-opening victory on Friday night was cut short in the closing minutes, as the University of Pittsburgh scored the lone goal of the matchup in the 86th minute to beat the Pride 1-0 at Ambrose Urbanic Field in Pittsburgh.
On paper, it looked as if Hofstra had total control of the contest, outshooting the Panthers 11-5, and winning the corner kick battle 6-0. But in the end, the only number that matters is the one on the scoreboard, and Hofstra was unable to capitalize on multiple opportunities.
As the clock dwindled down, a scramble for the ball inside of Hofstra’s penalty box put the ball at the foot of Pitt’s Juelle Love. Love was able to beat Hofstra’s Ashley Wilson to break the scoreless tie and to sink the Pride’s hopes of starting out the 2017 season with a victory.
Wilson, who played in net whistle-to-whistle after spending much of last season splitting time in goal with Friederike Mehring, made three saves for Hofstra. Her counterpart on the other end of the pitch, Katelyn McEachern, saved six shots for the Panthers, performing admirably to keep Pitt in the game while Hofstra controlled much of the offensive action throughout the match.
The story heading into this one was whether or not Hofstra would be able to receive production on offense without last year’s standout Jill Mulholland, who did the majority of the Pride’s scoring. While Hofstra ultimately couldn’t find the back of the net, the team did see shots coming off the feet off any different players, a good sign for the future.
Freshman Sabrina Bryan had a very promising performance in her Hofstra debut, putting a pair of shots on net, including one that hit off the post in the 85th minute. Jenn Buoncore also had two shots on goal for the Pride, while Noriana Radwan and Kristin Desmond had one apiece.
