By Kevin Carroll - ASSISTANT SPORTS WRITER In a torrential downpour, with winds gusting in all sorts of directions, the conditions—and Maddie McCormick—proved just too much for the Hofstra women’s soccer team to handle.
McCormick scored both of UNCW’s goals, one being the overtime winner, to lead the Seahawks past the Pride 2-1 on a Friday night in Hempstead that will be most remembered for the driving rain and wind that just seemed to get worse as the game went on.
“It was a difficult game to play, and the conditions obviously affected the game,” said Hofstra head coach Simon Riddiough. “They [UNCW] deserved to win in the end, they got the winner and that’s just how it is.”
The few fans that did brave the conditions to come out to the Hofstra Soccer Stadium saw the two best offenses in the CAA struggle to find their footing for most of their match, often having to contend with gusts of wind blowing the ball in sorts of directions, making it a nightmare for both teams to try and possess the ball.
The first half was largely quiet, as both teams attempted to adjust to the conditions. Neither Friedrike Mehring of the Pride nor Carolyn Huddy of the Seahawks were really tested in goal, only seeing a handful of shots, most of them whizzing wide or flying over the crossbar. By halftime, the two teams were deadlocked at zero, and had only managed five shots apiece. Leah Galton, the newly crowned all-time points leader for Hofstra, had a couple early looks at the goal, but was unable to capitalize on her opportunities.
The second half began no better for either team, as the wind continued to play tricks on the players, making it nearly impossible to mount any sort of constant offense. Jenn Buoncore finally put a good shot on goal for the Pride around the 70-minute mark, skimming one just over the crossbar.
The Hofstra offense began to pick up steam, getting some decent looks off of two corner kicks, but the Seahawk defense was able to hold them off. At the 82:51 mark, McCormick was finally able to break the scoreless tie, sneaking one into the lower left corner of the net, just past a diving Mehring. The goal made it 1-0 UNCW with just about seven minutes left, and with the wind and rain picking up even more, it looked as though it would be all the Seahawks needed.
But the Pride wouldn’t go down easily. Just four minutes later, Kristin Desmond took a nice pass into the box from Jeannine Molleda, and beat the goalkeeper Huddy to tie the match at 1. UNCW pushed down field for one final chance, but was unsuccessful, and the match headed into overtime.
As exciting and climactic as those final minutes of the half were, overtime would prove to be the exact opposite. McCormick wasted no time, firing a shot past Mehring just 90 seconds into the period to give UNCW the 2-1 OT victory. The loss was Hofstra’s first in CAA play, as well as their first loss at home.
“It happened so quickly, it was difficult to figure out why she [McCormick] was open,” Riddiough said about the overtime goal. “[It’s] something we look at the tape and see how we do from there on.”
Hofstra drops to 8-4 with the loss, and are now 2-1 in the CAA. The team will look to rebound when they take on another conference opponent in College of Charleston on Sunday at noon at the Hofstra Soccer Stadium.