By David Gibb, Sports Editor
The Hofstra Women's Soccer team played their final two home games of the season over the weekend, welcoming Virginia Commonwealth and James Madison University to the Hofstra Soccer Stadium. The weekend was key for the Pride, as they were searching to ensure a place in the CAA Tournament.
Friday night's game against the visiting VCU Rams began with the Pride on the offensive, out-shooting their opponents 6-1 in the first half. However, VCU goaltender Kate Hudson did well to keep her team in it, making six saves in the game and blanking Hofstra until one of her defenders made a costly error in the 38th minute with a handball. Senior Diane Caldwell drove home the ensuing penalty kick for her third goal of the season, giving the Pride a 1-0 lead going into the half.
The Pride continued their onslaught in the second period, taking 10 more shots while allowing the Rams to take only three. Hofstra goalie Krysten Farriella, returning to the net after sitting out the previous game against Georgia State, was not forced to make a single save before being lifted for freshman Kylie Shuster in the 83rd minute.
Hofstra's leading scorer Salma Tarik added to her goal total in the 71st minute of the game, tallying her 10th score of the season to extend the Pride's lead to 2-0. Tarik‘s goal was assisted by Jess Crankshaw (her 4th of the season) and Laura Greene, who leads the team in the category with eight.
Shortly thereafter in the 77th minute, the Pride asserted themselves again with a goal from junior defender Dana Bergstrom, pushing their lead to 3-0. The goal was Bergstrom's first of the year, and was quite literally a long shot. Bergstrom fired from near the sideline and tucked the ball in the upper-left hand corner of the goal, capping the scoring for the Pride and ensuring a 3-0 victory over VCU.
Sunday afternoon's game against James Madison was by far the Women's Soccer team's most meaningful contest of the year. Although the win over Virginia Commonwealth had guaranteed the Pride a spot in the CAA tournament, a win over JMU would give Hofstra the number one seed and bring the conference tournament to the Village of Hempstead.
The Pride dominated possession in both periods of regulation play against the Dukes, taking eight shots in each half while allowing JMU only six in ninety minutes. Regrettably, in a scene reminiscent of the previous week's game against Georgia State, the Pride could not establish a lead regardless of their tremendous advantage in shots. At the end of regulation, the game was tied 0-0 and headed to overtime.
Once again in overtime, the Pride were on the attack, taking 4 shots against only one from the Dukes. The team found itself unable to capitalize on the opportunities, however, and the game ended in a 0-0 tie.
While they were unable to secure home field for the CAA Tournament against James Madison, the Hofstra Women's Soccer team still determine their own fate with one game left on the schedule. The 7-1-2 (10-4-3 overall) Pride will travel to Boston to take on the 6-1-3 (11-3-3 overall) Northeastern Huskies Saturday at 2pm. The winner of that game will go on to host he CAA Women's Soccer Tournament. The odds are slightly in the Pride's favor in terms of seeding, as a tie would bring the CAA Tournament and the number one seed to Hofstra.