With 0:26 seconds left in the match, defender Krista Agostinello scored the Pride’s lone goal en route to a tough 2-1 loss against the Columbia University Lions. The Pride ended their non-conference run with a 5-3-1 record.
The Pride started the game strong before the Lions started to control the game. Hofstra had an early shot by Eila Wennerholm, but the high-arching ball went right into the arms of Columbia’s goalkeeper Paige Nurkin.
In the 41st minute, the Lions got their first goal of the game. Charlyse Berry headed the ball up, and Sam Cohn headed the ball down in the path of Annie Diaz-Silveira who struck the ball home. This marked Diaz-Silveira’s first goal of the season.
With less than a minute in the first half, the Pride recuperated some strength in their offense. After build-up from the team, the ball found Aimee Hodgson, who shot the ball toward the right side of the net only to be saved by Nurkin. The teams then went into halftime with Columbia leading 1-0, even though the Pride led 3-1 in shots, with both sides having one shot on goal apiece.
“The morale going into halftime was disappointing,” said Hofstra women’s soccer head coach Simon Riddiough. “I was angry; everybody was angry.”
The Lions started the second half with a shot on goal, but Kuzmich got down right away to make the diving stop.
In the 49th minute, Columbia was on the board again. Sam Cohn found the back of the net thanks to Ania Prussak’s timely assist, making this Cohn’s first goal of the season.
Nine minutes later, the Pride had a chance to capitalize on more openings by having one more player than the Lions due to Hannah Deljkic’s red card after shoving a Hofstra player to the ground.
The next 32 minutes were marked by midfield play for ball control and a handful of shots combined, all of which culminated until the last minute when Hofstra’s lone goal of the game was scored by Agostinello. Wiktoria Fronc passed the ball over the backline to Agostinello, who launched it past Nurkin with 0:26 seconds to spare. This was Agostinello’s first goal and Fronc’s second assist of the season.
Fundamentally, it looked like this game came down to who made the most of their shots. While the Pride outshot the Lions 10-6, Columbia proved to have a higher accuracy by outshooting Hofstra 4-3 in shots on goal. Although Hofstra had majority possession, 55%, Columbia was able to capitalize on their four chances more and cash in half of them. Both keepers had two saves each, contributing with simple grabs and in-possession work throughout the match.
“We tried eight different combinations. We tried eight different players in different positions. That’s ten different players and probably three combinations of each ten, so we tried 30 different combinations and got nothing,” Coach Riddiough said.
Hofstra’s next matchup will be at home against Hampton University in open conference play. The game be at Hofstra Soccer Stadium on Thursday, Sept. 22, at 7 p.m.
Photo courtesy of Hofstra Athletics
