Vince Lombardi once stated, “It’s not whether you get knocked down, it’s whether you get up.” The Hofstra field hockey team is ready to get back up after getting knocked down last season.
After a season which saw the team go 2-4 in Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) play, miss the CAA playoffs by tiebreaker rules to Drexel University and get a new head coach in Courtney Veinotte after Kathy DeAngelis resigned with 20 seasons under her belt, the team has brand new identity and is ready for the upcoming season, according to coach.
Veinotte was promoted from associate head coach in February and has been impressed with how she has fit in during the offseason.
“Already knowing the players and the program have really made our two months effective,” she said.
“We’ve made a huge jump … as a team. We pushed how we want to look as a team on attack and on defense,” Veinotte said.
The team could use the new offensive and defensive looks, as they only scored 27 goals last season compared to their opponents, who scored a combined 63 goals against the team.
Entering this season, one of the biggest players on the team is midfielder Cami Larsson who lead the team with seven goals and also made the All-CAA Second Team along with the All-CAA Rookie Team in 2018.
“[Larsson] is a special individual … probably one of the most natural leaders I’ve seen,” Veinotte said. “For a first-year to make the CAA Second Team and All-Rookie Team shows the caliber of player she is.”
Along with Larsson are Djuna Slort and Madison Reed, both players who had good seasons in 2018, but are prepared for bigger roles and more points this upcoming season.
Reed played in all 18 games for the team and also registered a team-high seven assists last season. Slort played in all 18 games as well and scored three goals along with a handful of assists.
Also coming to the team are six new recruits along with transfer Lindsie Rogers from the University of the Pacific.
“[Rogers] brings some maturity … she can bring a zest of learning how to win,” Veinotte said.
Rogers was a key member of the University of the Pacific as she helped build the program up to a west coast powerhouse. She was a regular starter at the University of the Pacific before she transferred to Hofstra for the fall.
Veinotte feels that in bringing in Rogers, she can also help Hofstra take the steps forward to be their own powerhouse within the next few seasons.
This season, the team will only play five road games while playing the rest of their games at the Hofstra Field Hockey Stadium.
“We want to create a good feel on our turf and feel confident playing there and get the community at our games and feeling the vibe of field hockey and our program,” Veinotte said.
Ahead of CAA play, Veinotte mentioned how there was no single team the program was worried about, but instead has an “us versus everyone” mentality when referring to the CAA portion of the schedule for the Pride.
Last year, the team missed the CAA playoffs by a tiebreaker to Drexel, but Veinotte says that the team was motivated by that loss.
“It gave us a taste of how close we really were,” she said.
She says that the team’s 1-0 win over James Madison University and 3-1 win at Towson University in 2018 were two games where the Pride began to realize together that they could make the CAA tournament and be a top program as well.
Veinotte said that this motivation has helped the team in both offseason training and spring games.
“We want to lay the groundwork for the next five years and ten years,” she said.
Finally, when asked what the short-term and long-term goals for the team were, Veinotte said, “If we can get playing as one unit for opening weekend … that’s a short-term goal,” when referring to the opening weekend series against Wagner College on Friday, Aug. 30.
Winning at a consistent level and jumping into the CAA tournament and get a bid are the team’s long-term goals.
Veinotte then emphasized the importance of the team getting a bid, saying that it would give approval that she and team are making strides as a program to become a force to be reckoned with.
“It would put a stamp on the season and show we did something this year,” she said.
“We’ve got a lot of great leaders in the group,” Veinotte said. It is these new leaders that could help the Pride break into the CAA playoffs and become a threat for this upcoming season, along with being the team to watch this fall semester.
Image Courtesy of Hofstra Athletics
