By Anders Jorstad – STAFF WRITER
The Hofstra women’s soccer team compiled a total of 31 shots in an eventual 4-3 victory over the Fairleigh Dickinson Knights on Sunday.
The scoring got started early for the Pride when Leah Galton scored on a perfect header off a corner kick at the nine-minute mark to put the Pride up 1-0.
Hofstra displayed tremendous energy on offense and was able to keep the ball on the FDU’s side of the field for much of the early parts of the game, which allowed them to get a lot of looks.
The Pride’s energy started to dwindle late in the first half when some defensive miscommunication on Hofstra’s end allowed for a goal by FDU’s Connie Lewis to tie the game up 1-1.
Hofstra continued to pile on the offensive chances but struggled with pass accuracy and communication on the offensive end, often leading to turnovers and more chances for Fairleigh Dickinson to take the lead. Eventually FDU capitalized on one such opportunity when Carly Tice nailed a header into the net to put the Knights up 2-1.
After the second FDU goal, The Pride became more energetic and played with a greater sense of urgency, displaying tighter focus and a stronger will to fight. Kristin Desmond was able to answer the Fairleigh Dickinson goal with one of her own just three minutes later to tie the game up for the Pride once again at the 49 minute mark.
Jeannine Molleda eventually received a free kick opportunity from about 23 feet out of the opposing goal and sent in a beautiful cross through the top right corner for the score and her first goal of the season.
Just as it appeared The Pride had taken the lead for good, FDU scored on a breakaway opportunity due to some defensive miscommunication by the Pride. It was Nicole Picone’s first score of the season. After that goal Hofstra slowed down the pace on offense, seemingly playing for an overtime period even though there was still more than 15 minutes left in the match.
All of a sudden, Galton received a pass on a breakaway, blowing by three FDU defenders on the left side. It was a three-on-one opportunity and while Galton had the choice of passing the ball off to a teammate, she decided to take the shot herself, tapping the ball into the top right corner and giving Hofstra a lead it wouldn’t surrender.
For the last several minutes Hofstra burned the clock down by playing keep-away and was able to seal a 4-3 win over FDU, a team picked 2nd in the Northeast Conference before the season began.
Following this match Hofstra will head down to Yale to play in the Yale Invitational, where the team will meet up against Yale and Central Connecticut State, the team picked first in the NEC conference ahead of FDU.
It will be interesting to see if the Pride can start to string some wins together after a successful first home stand of the season.
