On Friday, Sept. 15, the Hofstra University field hockey team lost in their Coastal Athletic Association (CAA) conference opener to the No. 19 University of Delaware Fightin’ Blue Hens by a score of 1-0. The Pride falls to 3-4 on the season and 0-1 in the CAA, while the Fightin’ Blue Hens improve to 4-3. Hofstra is now 7-31 all-time against Delaware, with the Pride’s most recent win dating back to 2014.
The lone goal of the game was scored by Delaware’s Berber Bakermans in the second quarter on a turnover from the Pride’s defense.
“They had a key scorer who was out today,” said Hofstra head coach Coutrney Veinotte, referring to Delaware forward Kiki Oudshoorn. “We were prepared to play the best defensive effort we could. We’ve continued to improve every game defensively. The team stepped up and answered what we were asking them to do to a T.”
The first quarter of the game started slow with both teams registering one shot on goal each in the first 15 minutes. It wasn’t long before the intensity started to rise when Hofstra forward Jaime Lewis got called off for a green card. Lewis wasn’t the only one to get a card, though, with a combined nine total cards given out during play, including three green cards and five yellow cards.
“I feel that there was an incredible competitiveness,” Veinotte said. “First CAA game of the season, and we knew it was going to be. The officiating brought heightened emotion to this game and a lot of cards.”
The action started to pick up in the second quarter when Bakermans stole a pass from Hofstra’s defenders, scoring and giving the Blue Hens the lead. The Pride stepped up in response with midfielder Gabriela Espanoza making a strong net drive for a shot that went wide.
The third quarter brought a whole new aspect to the game with the Pride getting out to a fast start and controlling the ball most of the time.
“We found where our vulnerabilities were at halftime,” Veinotte said. “We switched our press a little bit and created some inside passing lanes. Ultimately when you do that, they have to play up the sideline which creates a lot of turnovers for us.”
Veinotte’s game plan worked as Hofstra controlled play and racked up four shots and five corners in the third quarter.
The tension remained high as the clock ticked down to its final minutes with Hofstra being awarded a penalty corner with just 10 seconds left. Everyone was on their feet as Teresa Karoff passed the ball in to Tara McNally who scored with two seconds left. However, the call was overturned due to the ball entering the net too high on the initial shot, making the final score 1-0 for Delaware.
The Pride are back in action next Friday, Sept. 22, at home against Long Island University at 3 p.m.
Photo courtesy of Hofstra Athletics/Matteo Bracco
