After honoring 12 graduating students as part of their senior day festivities, the Hofstra women’s soccer team gave the Cougars of the College of Charleston a fright with a 6-0 win on Sunday, Oct. 31.
The possession game was all Hofstra from the start, as the Pride’s persistence and abundant shot attempts finally paid off over 30 minutes into the first half. Lucy Porter gained ground in the offensive zone and connected with Amanda Ebbesson, who sent it to Georgia Brown in front for her sixth goal of the season. The 1-0 lead held up for the rest of the first half.
Hofstra’s 13-0 advantage in shots taken in the first period put them in the driver’s seat, and the Pride expanded on that in the second by taking 21 more shots compared to just one from the Cougars.
“After a week of rest and preparation, I think we got our swagger back a bit, and we started to click again,” said Hofstra head coach Simon Riddiough.
Down by just one after a lopsided first half, the Cougars were overwhelmed by a barrage of goals beginning sixteen minutes into the second half. Ellen Halseth put away her seventh of the season when she was picked out by Jordan Littleboy. Under five minutes of playing time went by before Miri Taylor sent it to Porter in prime scoring position, and Porter beat Charleston goalie Meredith Holton to grow the lead to 3-0.
Over two minutes later, Porter was at it again, making herself an open passing target in front of the goal where Taylor again found her for the goal and a 4-0 lead. This put an end to Holton’s time in net as she was replaced by freshman Savannah Barron. She was welcomed to the game by one of the nation’s leading scorers in Taylor, who scored Hofstra’s fifth goal of the game and her fifteenth of the season. Lucy Porter was awarded a penalty kick after being tripped by two Cougar players and capped off the hat trick. The 6-0 advantage stood for the remaining time.
This was the third-straight game featuring a goal from Porter, who ended the season with five goals in her final three games. It was also Porter’s fourth career hat trick.
“I think she should’ve had two double hat tricks,” Riddiough said. “There’s no hiding how much I admire Lucy Porter; in the thirty years I’ve been at Hofstra she’s the best student athlete we’ve had. A lot of what we’ve accomplished over the past four five years is a huge part of what Lucy has provided us.”
In Porter’s five years, she’s contributed 47 goals and 27 assists for 121 points.
The Pride are set to take on the James Madison University Dukes in Elon, N.C. for the first round of the Colonial Athletic Association tournament. Charleston, meanwhile, finished the season with an overall 3-12-3 record and a 2-6-1 conference record.
Photo Courtesy of Adam Flash/The Hofstra Chronicle
