By Joe Fay -- SPECIAL TO THE CHRONICLE
The Pride field hockey team jumped out to an early 2-0 lead and never looked back, beating the Quinnipiac Bobcats by a score of 6-3 for their fifth straight win.
Simca Schoen and Claudia Marin Samper each had two goals to set the pace for an aggressive Hofstra offense.
Quinnipiac cut the lead back down to one at 15:12 on a penalty corner, but Hofstra brought the lead right back to two on a strong shot by Colby Hussong that struck diving Quinnipiac goalie Megan Conaboy but slowly rolled into the back of the net to make the score 3-1 at 24:38.
Soon after, Hofstra had a breakaway that looked like a sure goal until the Bobcats defender Megan Osanitsch made a last-second diving save to help out her struggling goalie.
The Pride was still determined to pad their lead and Simca Schoen quickly did just that at 27:55 with her second goal of the contest. Just five minutes later, Stella Schoen sent a laser shot past Conaboy to make the Hofstra lead 5-1.
Marin Samper added her second goal at 61:11 when the ball deflected off Quinnipiac’s diving goalie, giving her an open net to score on the rebound. Quinnipiac scored again later, but the game was already out of reach.
The Pride controlled the tempo of the game and had the majority of possession time in this dominating performance. They did not allow any momentum to build up against them. Quinnipiac struggled to keep the ball on the offensive side of the field.
The Hofstra defense stole the ball easily and often. When the Bobcats were able to get shots off, Carys Swan was superb in goal for the Pride. She had eight saves, including an incredible save on a hard shot by Megan Osanitsch at 32:08 to preserve Hofstra’s 4-1 lead at the time.
Hofstra head coach Kathy De Angelis said she felt this was “one of [Swan’s] best performances.”
She also added that Simca Schoen, who had two goals, had “one of the great games today.”
Claudia Marin Samper has been key to the Pride’s offensive attack with 10 goals so far this season.
Coach De Angelis is “really happy” with the way her team is playing right now and credits their recent success to their work ethic.