On Friday, Oct. 18, the Hofstra University field hockey team defeated Coastal Athletic Conference (CAA) rival, the College of William & Mary, 2-0. With the win, Hofstra ended their seven-game losing streak that dated back to Sept. 15 against Long Island University. The win came off a strong performance in a 1-2 overtime loss against Yale University just days before on Tuesday, Oct. 15.
Sophomore Kelly Levengood scored her first goal of the season on a beautiful pass from Tara McNally to get Hofstra on the board. Pilar Peñaloza scored another in the second half. Pieke Roos made five saves en route for a shutout victory.
“I think we started to see the work from Tuesday against Yale come to fruition,” said Hofstra head coach Hillary Fitts. “They did their little jobs that they needed to do but they came together as a team to win this game together.”
Fitts spent the previous five seasons with the Tribe in the roles of assistant coach and associate head coach. Assistant coach Lauren Curran played for the Tribe last year and joined the Hofstra coaching staff this past May. Friday marked the first win for Fitts in conference play as a coach at Hofstra.
“It feels great,” Fitts said. “It’s hard to see them all over there since I coached all of them. But at the end of the day, I’m happy that we got the win because they [the team] deserved it.”
Hofstra entered the game with two wins while Willam & Mary only had one. All things considered, the game looked even on paper.
The Pride had more energy from the get-go and moved the ball well up and down the sideline with little resistance from the Tribe.
With just over seven minutes left in the first quarter, Jamie McMillian drew Hofstra’s first-quarter attempt of the game. She inserted the ball from the left side of the Tribe net to McNally who fanned on a slap shot but retained possession of the ball. McNally protected the ball from three William and & Mary players before being able to move the ball to Levengood who stood unguarded on the right side of the net. Levengood tipped in McNally’s pass and Hofstra took a first-quarter lead.
The goal was Hofstra’s first goal scored in the first quarter this season.
The Pride rode that lead into the second quarter until William & Mary got their best opportunity of the game. The Tribe drew four consecutive penalty corners and had dangerous shooting attempts on all of them, but Roos and the rest of the Pride’s defensive unit were up to the task.
In the third quarter, the Pride reclaimed control of the game and frequently found themselves in the Tribe’s shooting circle. Caitlin Lozano took the ball away from the Tribe in the midfield and stretched a long pass to Peñaloza in the circle. Tribe goaltender Emma Cari stopped Peñaloza’s initial shot but the rebound was left loose. Peñaloza took the ball on her back foot from the scrum and spun the ball into the net’s bottom right corner.
“I’m very happy with [Peñaloza] goal because it was pretty scrappy to get in there and finish like that,” Fitts said.
With the win, Hofstra and Willam & Mary are both 1-3 in conference play. The Pride defeated the Tribe for the second consecutive season and moved to an all-time record of 9-17 against the Tribe.
The Pride traveled to Fairfield University on Sunday, Oct. 22 for their next matchup. Tipoff was scheduled for 1 p.m.
Photos courtesy of Ethan Albin
