The Hofstra women’s soccer team played to a 1-1 draw with the UNC-Wilmington (UNCW) Seahawks on Sunday, Oct. 20, to keep their unbeaten streak alive.
It has been 11 games since the Pride has suffered a loss, and they remain undefeated in Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) play with a record of 5-0-2. They also maintained their unbeaten record in home games, with a record of 6-0-1 in matches at Hofstra Soccer Stadium.
It was a goal from Miri Taylor nine minutes into the second half that tied up the game for the Pride after falling behind early. The tally came on a downfield drive from Sabrina Bryan, who made a defender miss right outside the box before sending it to Lucy Porter. Porter promptly passed it right across the goal to a charging Taylor, who knocked it in.
Taylor’s goal was the first given up by the Seahawks in six games, as they had outscored their opponents 11-0 in their previous five matches. Sydney Schneider, UNCW’s goalkeeper, made two saves in the draw while allowing the first goal against the Seahawks in 507 minutes and 15 seconds of playing time. For Hofstra, Skylar Kuzmich tied her career high with six saves.
The lone goal allowed by Kuzmich came in the 31st minute when she came too far out of the net. Morgan Nanni of the Seahawks dribbled the ball around the sliding Kuzmich and passed it to teammate Emily Moxley, who was standing in front of an open net, to tap in for a goal.
“We gave up a really soft goal,” said Hofstra head coach Simon Riddiough. “It was poor from us in many regards, and many individuals messed up. At this level, against good teams, you can’t afford to do that. Fortunately, we battled back and we found our way with [Taylor] and Porter and got back in the game.”
The match was intense and featured both teams committing fouls in the double digits, as 20 fouls were called against UNCW and 16 went against Hofstra, including seven against Taylor alone.
“When the stakes get higher, it becomes more physical,” Riddiough said. “With the top two teams in the conference battling it out, those games do get physical, and it’s our job to give as good as we get.”
The Seahawks outshot the Pride 13-12 in the double-overtime match and took seven shots on goal compared to the Pride’s three. Hofstra was aggressive offensively, taking eight corners to UNCW’s four, but quality scoring opportunities were hard to find thanks to the tough defense of the Seahawks.
“You’ve got to give credit to Wilmington on their effort and desire to slow us down, and they did,” Riddiough said. “I also have to question my front forwards and how they challenged that. I thought we didn’t today; we were soft.”
By avoiding a loss against the team that previously held second place in the CAA rankings, the Pride remains atop the conference standings with two matches remaining in the regular season, both with major implications for tournament seeding. They travel to Towson University for their penultimate contest of the regular season on Thursday, Oct. 24.
Photo Courtesy of Hofstra Athletics
