By Jordan Sawyer -- STAFF WRITER
The 6-3-2 women’s soccer team kicked off conference play with back-to-back wins against the University of Delaware and University of North Carolina at Wilmington (UNCW).
Four of their last five games have resulted in shutouts led by the combined keeping of Jenna Borresen and Ashley Wilson. Borresen, a senior, filled in for Wilson when she went down with a concussion in the preseason and has made the most of her final season.
The tandem has only had to make four saves per game on average thanks to a “strong defensive line.”
Both Borresen and Wilson are amongst the Top 10 in the Colonial Athletic Association in goals against average and save percentage.
Borresen, to add, is the leader in save percentage at .900 in six matches.
“Our defense starts with our whole team … starts with three forwards pressing at the right angles, our midfield keeping tight and back four sponging around – our back four have been fantastic,” said Hofstra head coach Simon Riddiough.
The Pride has looked stellar defensively on the pitch all season, surrendering the fewest goals (10) throughout the conference.
Last season the team started off conference play with four consecutive losses on the road and finished with an underwhelming 4-5 record.
“We’ve got to make sure we don’t make the same mistakes,” Riddiough said.
“If we do our job preparing the team and they absorb everything and come with the same energy they have been, positive things will come.”
The team will look to return to their winning ways of 2015 when they went 8-1 in conference play before ultimately falling to Rutgers University in the second round of the NCAA tournament.
With a combined 11 players from that 2015 team, Hofstra’s current team brings a lot of experience with them into conference play and beyond.
In the past few seasons, the Pride were led by the leg of Jill Mulholland, who graduated this past spring.
“Kristin Desmond has that ability; she can fill the void [left by Mulholland]. Desmond has been phenomenal – she’s very underrated in my book. She plays like a beast and we’re hoping she’ll continue that over the next two months, and hopefully lead us to where we hope to always be – which is the CAA Finals and onward,” Riddiough said of his budding star.
Desmond leads the CAA in goals scored this year, tallying six in 11 matches.
The depth of the Pride has been prevalent this season, as every player has seen the field for multiple minutes and 14 different starters have been fielded.
The system has worked relatively well, considering the team’s scoring distribution has spread up and down the lineup.
Eight different Hofstra players have notched a goal this year.
“We’ve got a very good squad this year. I think it’s one of the deepest we’ve ever had, so we’re comfortable with putting people in; and in years past [we] probably weren’t so comfortable – so it’s going to be game by game,” Riddiough said.
“We want to give everybody an opportunity to continue to develop and become an important part of the team, and come [the] end of the year, that’s usually when you need those extra players.”
In terms of how far the team can go, Riddiough believes there is no ceiling.
With a mix of eight seniors, eight juniors and five transfers, the experience of the team will take them as far as they are willing to go.
“It depends on how far this team wants to go. We preach a lot of squad and team before individuals. I do believe we’ve got the talent to win the CAA and go into the NCAA.”
The team has a mix of youth and experience, but Riddiough does not believe the inexperience of the freshman will hinder the team down the road.
“We’ve got a good balance. The senior class this year has been fantastic – great leadership, all motivating everybody very well,” Riddiough said.
“We’ve got a lot of freshmen who are seeing a lot of quality minutes. The future foundation of the program is continuing to develop as well, so this year hopefully we can get a ring and hopefully that will continue some kind of dominance in the conference.”