The Hofstra women’s soccer team defeated the Providence College Friars 3-0 in the first round of the NCAA Tournament on Saturday, Nov. 13, at Hofstra Soccer Stadium. It was Hofstra’s second time in three years hosting an NCAA Tournament game after defeating Loyola Chicago 1-0 in overtime in 2019. Providence was making its second ever NCAA Tournament appearance and first since 1993.
“I think [making the NCAA Tournament is] an enormous accomplishment,” said Providence midfielder Alexis Rothmann. “It’s something that we’ve been striving to do when I’ve been here and since [head coach Sam Lopes has] been coach so I think we have to be very proud of ourselves for that aspect.” The Friars have yet to score a goal in an NCAA Tournament game.
The Pride got the scoring started in the 27th minute when Lucy Shepherd crossed a ball into the box from the right wing. Hofstra’s Georgia Brown rose to meet it and scored the header past Emma Bodner to send the home fans into a frenzy. “Georgia is the future now,” said Hofstra head coach Simon Riddiough. “I thought she played a fantastic game, I think she’s had a tremendous season.”
The Pride doubled the advantage just under five minutes later. Miri Taylor took a corner from the left side and sent the ball into the heart of the goal. Lucy Porter picked it out of the crowd to head home her seventh goal of the season.
“The ball doesn’t usually come to me straight on, it’s meant to go to the back post,” Porter said. “When it came through, I was moving towards it and I knew a flick on was all that crosses really need from Miri Taylor, so I managed to get a little touch on it and, somehow, it went in.”
The two points put Porter at 123 points for her career, a new program record. She passed Leah Galton on the Pride’s all-time list. “I don’t really focus on those sorts of things but it’s great to have,” Porter said. “I think I’ve cheated a bit because I’ve come back for a fifth year, but I’ll take it.”
The second half began without too much action for the first 11 minutes until a horn sounded that wasn’t from the scoreboard. A lightning delay in the 57th minute sent players, coaches, referees and the 805 fans in attendance fleeing for cover. It was an hour and 32 minutes before play resumed with hail raining down during the stoppage. Eventually, both teams returned to the field, along with the sun, and were greeted by a rainbow over the David S. Mack Physical Education Center as they warmed back up.
“It was basically find snacks for the girls because they were hungry and just relax and chill out until further notice,” Riddiough said. “We found out we had 20 minutes to get ready and that was it, basically. Don’t let the other team get a sniff of the goal and we’ll be fine.”
Hofstra was ready to go coming out of the delay. Krista Agostinello got the game restarted with a throw in and the ball bounced to Taylor near midfield. The Colonial Athletic Association’s Attacking Player of the Year took it from there, dancing through a couple of Friars before depositing the ball into the back of the net to extend the lead to 3-0. The goal came just 13 seconds after the restart.
Hofstra outshot Providence 16-5 with six shots on goal to the Friars’ two. The Pride also out-cornered Providence 9-2. Skylar Kuzmich made two saves for Hofstra while Bodmer stopped three shots for the Friars. The shutout was the Pride’s 13th of the season, a program record.
Next up, Hofstra faces the University of South Carolina Gamecocks who upset the No. 10 University of North Carolina Tar Heels 1-0. North Carolina was a two-seed in the tournament and had never lost an NCAA first-round game in program history. “We’re not scared of who gets drawn up against us,” Porter said. “Our game doesn’t change.”
The game will take place on Friday, Nov. 19, at the University of Southern California, the host school for the next two rounds for Hofstra’s quadrant of the tournament bracket.
Photo Courtesy of Hofstra Athletics
