The Hofstra University women’s soccer team experienced their first loss of the year, falling to Dartmouth College 2-1, on Sunday, Sept. 15, on the Burnham Field.
Dartmouth’s Hailey Rorick broke a 1-1 tie during the final minutes of the match. She did this with her third goal of the season to snap the Pride’s six-match win streak. The Big Green rises to a 5-2-1 record while Hofstra moves to 2-1-4 on the year.
Hofstra was slow out of the gate as they didn’t record a shot until nearly 16 minutes had passed, but the action picked up with the Pride continuing to apply pressure on the Big Green defense.
Millie Davis led the attack for Hofstra with five shots in the first half. Dagny Run Petursdottir had three of her own goals while Margaret Braithwaite and Kendyl Peterson each had a shot on goal. Davis played all 90 minutes, finishing the day with a team-high of nine shots with five of them on goal.
Despite outshooting their opponents by a margin of 11-0 in the first half, the Pride struggled to get past Dartmouth goalkeeper Ally Connors. She finished the match with nine saves, four of them in the first half, which gave way for the Big Green to turn the tide coming out of the break.
Dartmouth wasted no time getting on the board in the second half, winning a free kick less than two minutes in. Mary Lundregan curled a ball into the middle of the box, finding Hannah Curtin for a header to open the scoring. The goal was Curtin’s first of the season and the assist was Lundregan’s third.
Dartmouth looked to add another, with three more shots shortly after, but a pair of saves from Synne Danielsen kept the Pride within one. Danielsen came on at the start of the second half, taking over for Mackenzie Sullivan who began the match in goal for the Pride. Danielsen finished with a season-high of four saves.
Hofstra continued mounting pressure on the Dartmouth defense over the next 16 minutes, with a pair of shots on goal off four corners. The fifth try at a set piece led to the Pride finding their equalizer.
With just 20 minutes to play, Petursdottir found the back of the net for the second time this season as Sasha McTiffin and Ellie Gough were credited with the assist. It was the second straight game Gough and Petursdottir connected for a goal and was McTiffin’s first career assist.
The Pride continued to pressure Connors with another three attempts from the corner, resulting in two shots on goal in just four minutes. But the Dartmouth keeper didn’t budge, picking up two more saves to hold onto the tie, eventually allowing for Rorick’s game-winner 10 minutes later.
Dartmouth will travel to take on UMass Lowell in their next match as Hofstra now prepares for the start of Coastal Athletic Association play next week. They will host the College of Charleston on Thursday, Sept. 19, at Hofstra Soccer Stadium. Kick-off is set for 7 p.m.
Photo courtesy of Royce Dickson-Child
