By Gio Annatelli - STAFF WRITER
The Hofstra Pride Field Hockey team is the most dominate team out of all the Pride fall sports teams. It does, in fact, include the national ranked Men’s Soccer team, the always-tough Women’s Soccer team, and the reigning CAA Champion Volleyball Team. I’m not discrediting them; all three teams are very good and should compete for a CAA title. What I’m saying is that, right now, the Field Hockey team is the best and most dominate team of the four.
Yes, the Men’s Soccer team is the highest ranked team of the four, ranked 23rd in the nation. Yet, Field Hockey is on an eight game win streak and has completely conquered opponents. There have been some nail biters, but that comes with every sport, and with nail biters come blowouts (see 7-1 and 9-1 victories over Colgate and Sacred Heart.)
The team is 10-3 on the year, with the three losses coming in a row. The last two losses were against two tough opponents: 17th ranked Boston University and 6th ranked University at Albany. They fell to Boston 6-3, their worst loss of the year, and held Albany to just one goal, which was the decider.
Following the heartbreaking Albany loss, the team took down opponent after opponent. During the eight-game win streak, they have outscored opponents 35-15. In total, the Pride has outscored opponents 51-28 and has outshot the opposition 169-87. The only time where the opponents have the advantage is in the save count, where they have out-saved the Pride 118-59, but that’s not a stat to be proud of. That just means Hofstra is just getting through opponent’s defenses with will.
Not only has the offense been putting up fantastic numbers, it’s the defense that’s giving the offense the opportunity. The Pride has limited opponents to just ten shots or fewer in eight of their 13 games, four of which they limited opponents to under five shots. That is, in my mind, just absolutely incredible. Also in eight games, they limited opponents to two goals or less.
Not only has the team as a whole been playing terrifically, individual players themselves have been on a whole other level. Multiple athletes on this roster are having career years and have already broken previous bests; and the year isn’t even close to being over yet. Leading scorer Claudia Marin Samper has 15 goals and 10 assists for a whopping 40 points on the year. She has already surpassed her previous season’s totals, and passed former teammate Jonel Boileau career highs. To make that statement even sweeter, Boileau was CAA Player of the Year with those stats, and Marin Samper has six games left to play. Just think about that.
Then there are the Schoen sisters. Both Stella and Simca are on pace to having big years. Stella was an All-CAA first team pick in her rookie campaign and would’ve been one her sophomore year had she not missed seven games with an injury… so she was a part of the second team instead. There is no doubt in my mind that she can surpass her freshman year totals.
On to the reigning CAA Rookie of the Year. Simca is dismantling opponents. She has seven goals and assists with 21 points to correlate, already passing her last season goals and points totals. To rub more dirt in the wounds of her opponents, she’s doing all of this as a defender.
On to Colby Hussong, who had a career four points coming into 2015, all coming from assists. In this year alone, the Miami of Ohio transfer has six goals and three assists to give her 15 points. She has come up big for the Pride this year, as she has started every game so far and has two game winning goals. Look for her to come up big once conference play starts.
Not only have the usual faces been stepping up, the freshman class have made an impact of their own. Starting with Samantha Schlegel, she is fifth on the team in goals with five so far. Following two spots under her, it’s Madison Sauve with two goals. Both have been coming off the bench to provide a spark for the Pride. Not seen as a prolific goal scorer, Madison Reed has one goal and one assist for her freshman campaign, but has logged 595 minutes and started in every game she has played in.
Offense will win you games, but defense will bring home the championships, and that’s especially true for this Hofstra Pride defense. The back line is held down by Leigh Maxwell-Smith, Taylor Mumley and Carissa Witmer. The three have helped Hofstra hold opponents to 28 goals in 13 games and have been pivotal players in the games where the Pride has held opponents to less than five shots. If the backline fails, which it rarely does, Hofstra is lucky to have Carys Swan in net. So far this year, Swan has started all but the first game for the Pride. She has allowed 26 goals and has saved 55 shots to accumulate a 9-3 record. She was named to the CAA All-Rookie team, and with the stellar season she’s been having, there’s no reason why she can’t be a first or second team member.
Just in case anyone reading this forgot, the Pride have six games to go, all against conference opponents, and are already putting up career numbers. This is a team that is on fire and can easily win out the rest of the year if they really put their mind to it.
The Hofstra Pride is set to face 13th ranked Delaware at home, where they are 8-1 in front of their own crowd, on October 9th at 3 P.M. If Hofstra beats Delaware, they should go on to win the conference, and possibly make a run in the NCAA Tournament.