On Sunday, Sept. 10, the Hofstra University field hockey team beat Stonehill College 4-1 at home, thanks to a speedy start with two goals in the first five minutes.
“It’s something they were intentional with,” said Hofstra head coach Courtney Veinotte. “The past couple of games have been a bit slow to the start. Today they said, ‘Hey, the minute the whistle blows, let’s get some pressure and take care of the ball in the first five minutes.’ It was a goal of theirs, and they capitalized and got two [goals] in the first five [minutes].”
The rainy first quarter started quickly for the Pride, starting with Jamie Mc Millan who found the back of the net just 52 seconds into the game off a corner by Teresa Karoff and an assist by Kesia Richardson. Karoff took all 11 of the Pride’s penalty corners during the game, eight of which happened in the first quarter.
Hofstra’s second goal came just under five minutes into the game when Samantha Spera dribbled down the end line before feeding the ball to Gabriela Espinoza to net a goal. The Pride dominated the first quarter, ending with 14 shots.
Both teams failed to score in the second quarter, and energy died down from the Pride, who had only one shot to the Seahawks four. Hofstra keeper Pieke Roos made three saves during the quarter, including one off her leg guard.
“All three goalkeepers were trying to get time and get them playing experience and seeing who organizes and connects with the backfield,” Veinotte said. “[Roos] had an incredible game; I think she had an incredible lie-down penalty corner save with a high kick, a high leg guard save, which is just an incredibly athletic movement. She’s got great skillsets, great organizational skills.”
The Pride earned their third goal early in the third quarter after Cami Valor dribbled in, putting the ball in front of Spera who made the shot.
The action picked up in the fourth quarter with a goal apiece by both the Seahawks and the Pride. Stonehill player Lacy Moran got ahold of the ball off a turnover and nailed her shot to the right of Hofstra’s Meghan Reilly.
In dramatic fashion, with only one second left in the game, Maya Williams passed the ball inside to Logan Oswalt who tipped it in with a backhand shot to earn the Pride their fourth and final goal.
“Winning is not easy, at all, any game,” Veinotte said. “You have to show up and you have to put together your best that you can, so any win needs to be celebrated.”
Hofstra’s next appearance on the field will be home to open conference play against the University of Delaware on Friday, Sept. 15, at 3 p.m.
“Going into every game we’ve just been focusing on what can we pull from this game, how can we get better this week, what can we implement in practice and we’re seeing small growths as we go here with this group and every game getting a little bit better,” Veinotte said. “We’ve got all eyes on Delaware right now and putting together the best plan.”
Photo courtesy of Alexis Friedman/Hofstra Athletics
