On Sunday, Sept. 30, the Hofstra Field Hockey team fell to the visiting Tribe of William & Mary by a score of 1-0. Scoring the only goal of the contest was the Tribe’s Woodard Hooper, who scored within the first five minutes of the game.
That early goal created the momentum necessary for the Tribe to control most of the contest, with the Pride struggling to get their offense going. William & Mary also accumulated four penalty corners in the match, compared to Hofstra’s two.
The Tribe defense was able to hold Hofstra to only three shots and one shot on goal throughout the entire game.
“William & Mary has a very strong defensive backline and midline,” said Hofstra head coach Kathy De Angelis. “I think we really struggled to get the ball in scoring opportunities because we couldn’t get past their second line. It was challenging for us, and unfortunately we couldn’t take advantage of the limited opportunities we had.”
Despite the loss, there were several bright spots that came from the game on Sunday afternoon. Hofstra was able to contain William & Mary to only one goal even though the Tribe shot the ball 23 times. “To contain them as we did, that was a real credit to our whole defense,” De Angelis said.
Additionally, Betty Bosma, the freshman goalkeeper for the Pride, had an incredible performance against the Tribe. After being scored on at the onset of the match, she made sure that any further scoring attempts from the Tribe would be thwarted for the remainder of the contest. As the current leader of the Colonial Athletic Association in saves, Bosma would add eight more to her total in this game.
“I thought [Bosma] was very steady today,” De Angelis said. “It was a tough one that went by in the first half, and I don’t think we were ready defensively, but overall she was very solid and she was the backbone today.”
With the loss, Hofstra falls to 1-1 in conference play and 3-10 overall. The team now looks ahead to their contest against Northeastern University on Friday, Oct. 5, at 3 p.m. at the Hofstra Field Hockey Stadium.
Photo courtesy of Hofstra Athletics
