Hofstra University women’s soccer team secured a spot in the Coastal Athletic Association (CAA) Championship tournament with a 2-0 win over the College of William & Mary on Sunday, Oct. 20. The Pride improve to 5-2-2 in conference play, while the Tribe dropped to 3-6.
Midfielder Millie Davies powered Hofstra to victory by scoring both goals. The junior’s first goal was on a penalty where she sent William & Mary’s goalkeeper, Jazzy Lorenz, the wrong way.
The Pride stepped on the gas following the goal with Davies doubling her tally three minutes later. Aimee Hodgson found Davies on the edge of the box before she sent a strike into the top right corner to give Hofstra full control of the contest. Davies is now up to four goals on the season while also leading the Pride in assists with five.
After Davies’ second goal, the Tribe obtained the momentum for the rest of the match. In the last 30 minutes of the first half, William & Mary had six shots to Hofstra’s one, however, freshman goalkeeper Synne Danielsen was perfect as she notched four saves in her first career clean sheet.
In the second half, Hofstra attempted to regain control. The Pride had two corners in the first five minutes of the half. Despite not creating any chances in the second half, finishing with zero shots, Hofstra kept the Tribe out to secure the win.
William & Mary dominated large parts of the final half, having seven shots and forced one save from Danielsen. The Tribe led the Pride in shots and corners on the afternoon, but both sides were equal with four shots on target apiece.
The result was Hofstra’s fourth clean sheet of the season, but the first in which just one keeper played.
The match was a typical conference matchup with a combined 33 fouls during the match, including three yellow cards. Hailey Moschitta and Dagny Run Petursdottir obtained the yellows for the Pride.
Ellie Gough and Davies combined for all five of Hofstra’s shots. Head coach Simon Riddiough gave extended playing time to senior Matilda Liljefors. The forward played 26 minutes, her highest mark since the opening game of the season against Quinnipiac University.
Margaret Peterson, Thea Bergsten, Ava Lanfredi and Kendyl Peterson were four substitutions Riddiough made throughout the game.
For the Tribe, Leah Iglesias, Molly Widderich and Ivey Crain all had three shots in the afternoon.
Hofstra will head home this week to finish regular season play against Monmouth University on Thursday, Oct. 24. A victory will give the Pride a chance at securing a bye to the semi-finals of the CAA tournament. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m.
Photo courtesy of Ethan Albin
