On Thursday, Sept. 28, the Hofstra University women’s soccer team took the field against the College of William & Mary Tribe (W&M) at Hofstra Soccer Stadium in a Coastal Athletic Association (CAA) matchup that saw the Pride lose 1-0, ending their seven-game unbeaten streak.
Hofstra falls to 7-3-1 overall and 4-1-1 in CAA play.
“[It was] disappointing, obviously,” said Hofstra head coach Simon Riddiough. “ I thought in the first half William & Mary gave us some systemic issues to deal with. We came out with a system that we are unfamiliar with playing. We prepared for it, but we were way too conservative and allowed their back three to get comfortable in possession and get some territory, which is unlike us. The second half, we adjusted, we changed systems, and I thought for 45 minutes we dominated. To be fair to William & Mary, they defended very well and countered a couple of times and did a good job.”
The lone goal for the Tribe came in the 40th minute. Midfielder Lindsay Wilson passed the ball across the box to find midfielder Jillian O’Toole, who took the shot, sneaking it right under the crossbar as Hofstra goalkeeper Skylar Kuzmich dove, using her top hand but still narrowly missing the ball. W&M took the 1-0 lead.
The Pride had a look on goal, but a strong defensive effort by the Tribe kept Hofstra off the board. The Pride won a free kick in their half of the field, and junior defender Gabriella Marte stepped up to take the kick. Marte sent it all the way into the Tribe’s box, where goalkeeper Zoe Doughty came out and misjudged the ball as it went over her head and bounced near the goal line. Defender Ginny Delacruz made a last-ditch save off the line to deny the Pride.
After a foul near the Hofstra sideline, sophomore midfielder Millie Davies sent the ball in on goal, and Doughty backpedaled to expertly tip the ball over the net, once again denying the Pride a goal.
Junior midfielder Olivia Pearse had to be withdrawn early in the matchup, with freshman defender Sasha McTiffin taking her spot on the back line.
“I thought [McTiffin] did really well,” Riddiough said. “Obviously, getting Olivia injured early doesn’t help. It forced us to make some adjustments which made it even more difficult to press because she is the kind of defender who will press higher, and that kind of took our momentum from the first half. Second half, when we readjusted, I thought Sasha grew into the game. She won headers, kept the ball moving, and she was unfortunate on that one opportunity.”
Hofstra finished with 13 total shots and five on goal, while the Tribe finished with nine total shots and three on goal.
Kuzmich finished with two saves, and Doughty finished with five.
The Pride returns home on Sunday, Oct. 1, to take on Northeastern University in a CAA matchup at Hofstra Soccer Stadium. Kickoff is scheduled for 1 p.m.
Photo courtesy of Hofstra Athletics/Jon Reiss
