In its biggest test since its match against No. 7 Penn State University, the No. 23 Hofstra women’s soccer team took down No. 22 Princeton University on the road, 2-0 on Thursday, Sept. 16. Hofstra received its goals from Georgia Brown and Ellen Halseth, while Skylar Kuzmich recorded her fifth shutout of the season.
The win concludes the non-conference portion of the Pride’s schedule with an 8-1 record. It’s also the second win over a ranked opponent in program history, its first having been against No. 22 Boston College in the 2018 NCAA tournament.
The Pride got the scoring going in the ninth minute, with Brown scoring on a header off a cross from Lucy Shepard. The goal was the fourth of the season for the freshman. They continued to set the tone, outshooting the Tigers 5-4 in the first half and getting two corners to the Tigers’ zero.
Despite not scoring, Princeton kept applying pressure, forcing the Pride defense to stay active. The Tigers put seven shots on goal, beating the Pride in that category by three shots. Kuzmich responded to the pressure by collecting a career-high seven saves, thwarting any chance the Tigers had of making a comeback. One of those saves included an impressive leaping save to stop Princeton from tying the game in the 48th minute.
With Princeton playing more aggressively to start the second half, Halseth took advantage, beating out the Tigers’ defenders and scoring her fourth goal of the season, tapping one past a diving Grace Barbara. The goal was assisted by Jordan Littleboy and Miri Taylor. The assist continued Taylor’s streak of recording a point in every game this season. It was her 26th career assist, moving her into a tie for second place in Hofstra women’s soccer history.
Lucy Porter made her first appearance as a reserve tonight, playing 41 minutes. She had started in her last 70 games, dating back to 2017. Leah Iglesias was the only reserve to record a shot on goal.
The Pride begin their Colonial Athletic Association schedule on Sunday, Sept. 26, at home against the Towson University Tigers.
Photo Courtesy of Adam Flash/The Hofstra Chronicle
