With 90 seconds left in the second overtime period, Hofstra University’s graduate student Krista Agostinello netted the winning goal to defeat Northeastern University in the 2022 Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) women’s soccer championship 2-1 at Parsons Field in Boston, Massachusetts. Even though the Huskies beat the Pride in the regular season, that did not stop Hofstra from leaving it out on the pitch and winning the championship.
The first half consisted of a strong offensive performance from both sides. Multiple shots were saved on goal or missed to bring both teams to halftime scoreless. Hofstra tallied seven total shots in the half, and Northeastern had five. Senior Skylar Kuzmich had three saves in the half, and graduate student Holland Stam had one for the Huskies.
In the second half, both teams got on the scoreboard to produce the 1-1 tie that led the teams to overtime. In the 60th minute, Hofstra scored the first goal of the afternoon. Freshman Wiktoria Fronc received the ball on the left flank before she nutmegged the defenders in front of her. She kept her run going into the box and fired a close-range shot that was initially saved by Stam. The rebound went right to the feet of senior Ellen Halseth, who tapped the ball easily into the back of the net. This was Halseth’s seventh goal and Fronc’s seventh assist of the season. The Pride took the lead 1-0 with 40 minutes to go.
Unfortunately for the Pride, the Huskies equalized with 10 minutes to go in the match. Senior Jane Kaull sent in a corner kick toward the back post. Senior Alexis Legowski got her head to the ball and headed it perfectly into the side netting. The game was now even, with both teams looking at overtime on the horizon.
The teams ended regulation tied 1-1. Hofstra had eight total shots compared to Northeastern’s seven. Kuzmich added four more saves to her tally, and Stam had three.
The first period of extra time was scoreless. Both teams ended with two total shots, and each keeper recorded one save.
In the second period of extra time, Hofstra got the winning goal with 1:30 left in the game. Freshman Thorhildur Thorhallsdottir struck the ball with power, hitting it off the crossbar. Agostinello was in the right place at the right time as the ball came right toward her head. She headed the ball straight into the back of the net to give Hofstra the lead in the dying minutes.
The match ended with Hofstra winning the CAA championship 2-1. The Pride ended with 21 total shots and nine on goal, and the Huskies had 16 in total and nine on goal. Kuzmich ended with eight total saves, and Stam had seven.
With the CAA Championship win, Hofstra moves on to the NCAA tournament.
The Pride found out at the Monday, Nov. 7th, selection show that they will face off against the Georgetown University Hoyas for the first round of the NCAA tournament.
The game is scheduled for Saturday, Nov. 12, at 1 p.m. at Shaw Field in Washington, DC.
Photo courtesy of Jim Pierce/Northeastern Athletics
