In the Pride’s final game of the season, the team defeated the Towson University Tigers 1-0 for its 10th win.
While the Pride did all it could to try and get the final CAA tournament spot, Hofstra will not advance. The Pride ended in a tie for sixth, but lost the tiebreaker to the College of Charleston.
Prior to the game’s start, Hofstra honored its seniors with a pregame ceremony and fittingly, it was senior Jill Mulholland who led the Pride to a win.
The Pride dominated the scoring opportunities in the first half, posting nine shots compared to three by the Tigers, but was unable to convert any for a goal.
“I can’t say enough about how we’ve responded to an early setback a couple of weeks ago,” said Pride head coach Simon Riddiough. The game was the third consecutive win by the Pride in conference play.
Mulholland led the Pride offense, recording four of the Pride’s five shots on goal.
After a scoreless start, the Pride continued to control the offense in the second half, posting another eight shots. The Pride would finish with 17 shots overall, while the Tigers only had four.
Junior Kristin Desmond came close to putting one in the net and went one-on-one with the Tiger’s keeper, who slid to secure the ball before Desmond was able to post a shot.
In the 74th minute, Mulholland found the net after sophomore Brianna Doran passed to sophomore Sabrina Barton, who crossed the ball to Mulholland.
It was Mulholland’s 13th goal of the season and third goal in two games.
“Jill’s proven this year that she’s the best player in the conference. Unfortunately, we’re not backing her up. If we were a first or second seed team, she would be conference player of the year,” Riddiough said. “I’m not sure she’ll get it now, but she deserves it.”
Despite the injuries Mulholland has faced, she’s remained consistent and had one of the best seasons of her career.
“I kept working hard and being surrounded by these girls made it easier,” Mulholland said. “It’s a huge win because we knew that it was do or die. Everyone did awesome.”
“13 goals is a tremendous amount for a midfielder. She’s been the engine of our team. We’re going to miss her sorely next year,” Riddiough said.
The Pride finished its season 10-7-1 and 4-5 in CAA play.