By Gio Annatelli -- STAFF WRITER
It’s that time of year again, and the Hofstra Pride field hockey team is going to the Colonial Athletic Association Championship for the first time since 2012.
The Pride will enter as the third-seed as they will take on the two-seed Delaware Fightin’ Blue Hens. In the other game, James Madison, who went undefeated in conference play, takes on the four-seed Drexel.
If everything goes as planned for Kathy De Angelis and crew, Hofstra will be hoisting the CAA Championship trophy on Nov. 8. In order to get there, the Pride has a tall mountain to climb.
Last year, Hofstra beat Delaware by a score of 5-2. This year, they lost to the Fightin’ Blue Hens 4-2 in a game that could have gone either way. This time around, the outcome is going to be very different.
In their meeting this year, the Pride defense stood strong in the first half, only allowing one goal on four shots. It was a tale of two halves, however, as whenever Hofstra caught momentum, they allowed Delaware to jump right back into the game.
The Pride was also unlucky with shooting, as Delaware had three defensive saves, which easily could have changed the outcome of the game had they gone into the net.
Hofstra has been waiting to get back into the playoffs for quite some time, after a just-missed chance last year, so they aren’t going to let this opportunity slip past them. There are plenty of reasons why the Pride can win the next two games.
Reason number one: The Big Three of Claudia Marin Samper, Stella Schoen and Simca Schoen is just too good. All three are having career years. In her first two seasons, Marin Samper had 48 points. After emerging as the true leader of this team, she has had 54 points and is in the top 10 in the country in multiple statistical categories.
Stella Schoen totaled 16 goals in her first two seasons with the Pride. She has 16 goals so far in her junior year, and is hungry for more. After a season of being named CAA Rookie of the Year, Simca Schoen has doubled her goal total having found the back of the net 12 times. When all three are on their best game, they can’t be stopped.
Reason number two: the defensive back line is just too strong. The trio of Leigh Maxwell-Smith, Carissa Witmer and Taylor Mumley can stop even the best of opponents. In 12 games this season, the Pride has limited opponents to 10 shots or less, while limiting some to under five shots in five different games. They’ve limited opponents to 44 goals and 128 shots on net for a 2.32 goals against average. In some instances for the Pride, their defense is their offense.
Reason number three: the bench is deep enough for anyone to come in and provide a spark. That is one thing that head coach Kathy De Angelis has been raving about throughout the year, that the bench has been playing their role terrifically.
Freshmen Samantha Schlegel and Madison Sauve have combined for a stat line of 10-1-21 coming off the bench in key moments of games and providing a spark. Also coming in and playing big roles for the Pride are Shannon Dougherty and Gillian Kirkpatrick.
Reason number four: the goaltending has been superb. Entering the season, it seemed to be the plan to platoon Carys Swan and Lauren Saltus and wait for one of the two to run away with the starting job. That didn’t last long, as Carys Swan won the job after game two and has stuck with it. In her time in net, she went 9-4, making 61 saves on 30 goals allowed while being at the heart of Hofstra’s eight-game win streak.
Eventually, her number was called against Towson and she hasn’t looked back since. Having not played since the first game against Vermont, which she won, Saltus posted two-straight shutouts en route to finishing the season with a 5-1 record and a goals against average of 2.39. The Pride has to be feeling confident with whomever is in net come the tournament,
Time for the predictions: In the game pitting James Madison against Drexel, the Dukes will come away with an easy 6-2 victory. For Hofstra vs. Delaware, the Pride will come out on top in a tight 3-2 defensive game. Claudia Marin Samper puts two in the back of the net with Samantha Schlegel providing a goal of the bench. Lauren Saltus records seven saves.
For the title game, most would think James Madison will win again easily since they’ve outscored Hofstra 17-5 in the past four years and beating them five times in that span.
However, the Pride has a very bitter taste in their mouth when it comes to the Dukes, so they’re going to give it their all in the matchup. The game is going to end in dramatic fashion seeing the Pride winning 2-1. Stella Schoen will score, with the game winding down to send it to overtime. Who doesn’t like an overtime championship game?
In the extra period, Claudia Marin Samper comes up big time for her team again, scoring an absolute laser to send Hofstra to the NCAA Tournament. In the game, Lauren Saltus plays brilliantly, making eight saves, with a couple diving stops to save the Pride’s season.