The No. 10 Hofstra women’s soccer team extended their winning streak to eight games on Thursday, Oct. 7, by defeating the University of Delaware’s Fightin’ Blue Hens 4-0 at Hofstra Soccer Stadium.
The Pride opened the match in their usual dominant fashion, with scoring contributions coming from senior leaders and rising freshmen alike.
Freshman midfielder Georgia Brown put Hofstra up 1-0 early in the first half with her fourth goal of the season. Later on, fellow freshman Olivia Pearse snapped a four-game scoring drought with her second goal of the year in the 73rd minute.
“Brown is special,” said Hofstra head coach Simon Riddiough. “Not only is she athletic and fit, she’s special with her decision-making and she’s a tremendous threat in the air. And, Pearse has been practicing really well the last two weeks. We challenge our freshmen to get better and I think all of them have done that.”
Miri Taylor found the back of the net, as well, by firing a shot inside the far-right post to score her 12th goal of the season. Ellen Halseth scored her sixth of the year with a one-timer just minutes remaining in the first half.
By the end of the half, Hofstra outpaced Delaware 10-1 in shots on goal and 10-0 on corner kicks.
“I thought it was the best 45 minutes we’ve played this season,” Riddiough said. “I thought we were dynamic. We were electric.”
The second half, however, wasn’t as smooth for the Pride, as Delaware slowed down the pace of the game. Rather than being able to use their speed and move up the field quickly with long passes through the air as they’ve been accustomed to, Hofstra was forced to navigate with short passes on the ground through the midfield, which was crowded with Blue Hens.
“Being up 3-0 at halftime, I think it’s always difficult for a team to stay as focused as we did in the first half,” Riddiough said. “It’s something we’ll keep working on. We have six more games to work on that and hopefully we’ll get there.”
Lucy Porter collected a total of three assists in the match, playing a role in the goals scored by Taylor, Halseth and Pearse, tying a Hofstra single-game record.
“Porter is a leader, she’s our captain,” Riddiough said. “Tonight, she was fantastic with her assists and unselfishness in front of the goal.”
The victory improved Hofstra’s record to 3-0 against Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) opponents this season, and their overall record to 11-1. Their next matchup comes Sunday, Oct. 10, on the road against another CAA foe in UNC-Wilmington where Riddiough will look to secure the 200th win of his coaching career.
Photo courtesy of Adam Flash/The Hofstra Chronicle
