The Hofstra women’s soccer team extended its undefeated start to the season by defeating the University at Albany Great Danes on Wednesday, March 3 at the Hofstra Soccer Stadium. The match was the Pride’s first shutout of the season, as they held the Great Danes to just two shots in 90 minutes in the 4-0 win.
“We knew we were the better team,” said Hofstra head coach Simon Riddiough. “I would have liked it to have been a little bit cleaner in the end, but we kept a clean sheet and scored four goals, so we can’t complain and get greedy.”
While the Pride controlled possession for the vast majority of the match, Albany was able to thwart a number of shot attempts in the first 30 minutes of play to keep the score unaffected. That changed at the 31:37 mark when Lucy Shepherd got around her defender inside the box to send a low shot rolling past the Great Danes’ goalkeeper Sophia Chen for the first goal of the game. Lucy Porter got the assist for her pass into the box that found Shepherd in space.
Shepherd struck again just 5:23 later when she knocked in the rebound from a header attempt by Lucy Porter. It was Sabrina Bryan’s pass into the goal area that set up Porter’s header, and the attempt’s deflection kept the Seawolves defenders off their balance just long enough for Shepherd to capitalize and score her third goal this season.
Coming out of halftime up 2-0, the Pride didn’t take their foot off the gas, as 8:22 into the second half Bryan scored on a SportsCenter-worthy shot, sending the ball floating into the top far corner of the goal from a distance outside the box. The score came off an assist from Jordan Littleboy.
Just 2:15 after Bryan’s goal, she sent a free kick into the goal area where it was headed in by Miri Taylor. Taylor tallied her second goal of the season while Bryan earned her team-best fifth assist. With just three games played this season, Bryan has assisted on five goals, coming off of a 2019 season in which she tallied 10 assists in 22 games played.
“With how many corners I’ve been able to take, we’re really just kind of used to it at this point,” Bryan said. “I know if I just float it to the back post, if Miri [Taylor], Lucy [Shepherd] or [Lucy Porter] isn’t there, someone else will be, so it’s just nice to know that we have that kind of connection.”
Albany was only able to manage two shots in the match, with one in each half. Both were saved by Pride goalkeeper Skylar Kuzmich.
“[Albany has] two very dangerous forwards, and I think we managed them well,” Riddiough said. “I thought, as a unit, we pressed well, and as always our defensive unit starts with our front three, and when they’re doing their job properly, it becomes a difficult team to break down. So, I was very happy with the back four, as well as the team’s defensive pressure.”
Having come out of their season-opening homestand with a clean 3-0 record, the Pride will begin Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) play in Philadelphia when they face the Drexel University Dragons on Saturday, March 13.
Photo Courtesy of Adam Flash/The Hofstra Chronicle
