By Joe Pantorno, Assistant Sports Editor
NEWTON, MA - The Portland regional bracket opened play yesterday in the NCAA tournament as the Hofstra University women's soccer team descended upon Boston College in Newton, MA to take on the University of Connecticut.
Hofstra came into the match with a patchwork side due to the suspension of sophomore defender Brooke Bendernagel at center back.
Sophomore defender Danielle Murino moved from right back to center back and senior forward Kayla Pifer moved to right back for the match.
Like typical Hofstra soccer, the Pride hit the ground running in the game's early minutes when senior forward Salma Tarik had her shot from 20 yards out cleared over the bar by UConn junior goalkeeper Jessica Dulski. Junior forward Laura Greene had a shot saved in the sixth minute and Tarik missed wide just a minute later.
In the tenth minute, Dulski poorly punched graduate student Grace Hawkins' cross from the left towards senior midfielder Tiffany Yovino. Yovino was able to get her head on the ball and send it to the back of the net to give the Pride the early lead.
"I was just crashing the net and it just fell right to my head and all I had to do was just tap it in," said Yovino. "It felt amazing. We came out the first twenty minutes and we were just on top of them and it was nice to get a goal because we totally deserved it."
After the Hofstra flurry in the first ten minutes, UConn was able to settle down and adjust. Hofstra's senior goalkeeper Krista Thorn was called into action in the twenty-first minute tipping a UConn shot over the bar and making a fantastic save near the left hand post in the forty-first minute.
The dynamic Hofstra offense that started the game was dormant for the rest of the first half as the teams hit the locker room with the score 1-0.
UConn's offense came to life at the restart calling the Pride's backline into action.
UConn junior midfielder Melissa Busque's shot missed wide right of freshman goalkeeper Emily Morphitis' net just two minutes into the second half. In the fifty-seventh minute, senior forward Elise Fugowski's shot from eighteen yards out just went over the crossbar. A minute later, sophomore defender Karen Gurnon found herself with a free header from a few yards out of goal and skied her chance over the net.
The Hofstra attack tried to take some pressure off the defense when Greene had a run at the UConn defense and took a shot from a tough angle left of the goal. Her shot went agonizingly wide to the right as the Pride looked to add insurance.
The inexperience of Pifer at right back almost came to burn the Pride when she carelessly gave away the ball inside her own penalty area. With an open net and just six yards away from goal, UConn junior forward Jessica Shufelt shanked her shot wide left.
The Pride was able to weather the storm though and hang on to the final whistle. Hofstra improves to 19-2 on the season and gains its first NCAA tournament win since 2007 when it defeated Ohio State 1-0.
"This team constantly surprises me," said head coach Simon Riddiough. "They constantly find different ways to make things happen and that's what they did today. It wasn't vintage, it wasn't great soccer, but they showed desire, they showed refusal to lose and that's the kind of attitude you need to win big games."
Hofstra will take on Boston College in the second round of the Portland regional bracket Sunday at 1 p.m in Newton.
The Eagles thrashed the Pride in the first game of its season earlier this year 5-0. The squad has been looking forward to this potential match up since the bracket was first released as Yovino put the mindset of the team into three words: "We want redemption."
Hofstra senior midfielder Tiffany Yovino heads in the lone goal of the match in the tenth minute of play. (Sean M. Gates/The Chronicle)