On Oct. 25, the Hofstra University field hockey team defeated Towson University 3-2 in a Coastal Athletic Association (CAA) game. After defeating the College of William & Mary on Oct. 18, Hofstra earned its second conference win, a feat the Pride have not accomplished since 2019.
Jamie Lewis scored two goals and Jamie McMillan scored one to lift the Pride past the Tigers.
With two tallies in the second half, Lewis became the first Hofstra player to score multiple goals in the same game this season.
Hofstra had an early jump in the first quarter. Townson recorded the first shot on goal but after that Hofstra held a decided advantage. Hofstra gained four penalty corners in a two minute span but could not convert on any attempts. McMillan took three shot attempts which all sailed wide.
Kristin Strijdom put the Tigers in front, scoring the first goal of the game with ten seconds left in the first quarter after Olivia Miller inserted a corner from the right hash.
In the second quarter, Towson pushed to extend their lead and nearly did. Midway through, Tara McNally and Kelly Levengood were both issued cards, forcing the Pride to play two players down. Towson earned a penalty corner while up two players, but Hofstra goaltender Pieke Roos turned the Tigers’ attempt away.
Roos did not allow another goal in the first half, en route to a four-save performance.
Early in the third quarter, Mc Millan got Hofstra on the board by burying an inbound from Lewis on a corner. Lewis passed to Lauren Lucas who set the ball for McNally who found and opened McMillan.
McMillan’s goal briefly tied the game at one until Towson’s Sarah Hatfield found the back of the net. Hatfield cut across the shooting circle from right to left and snuck the ball past Roos, restoring the Tigers’ lead.
To win the game, the Pride were forced to find two goals in fifteen minutes.
Lewis got the party started by scoring her first goal of the season nearly two minutes into the fourth quarter. With the score at two apiece, Hofstra and Towson battled for an answer.
Two minutes later, Lewis carried the ball around the top of the circle and shot cleanly through the keeper and into the back boards. Lewis’s two goals were her first since Oct. 27, 2023, against Monmouth University.
With eleven minutes left to play, the Pride locked up on defense and rode the one-goal advantage to the final buzzer.
The Pride improved their all-time record against Towson to 33-12 after failing to win last season.
Hofstra returned to play on Oct. 27, at American University in Washington D.C.
Photo courtesy of Ethan Albin
