By Kevin Carroll -- SPORTS EDITOR Despite a strong performance from Hofstra goalie Carys Swan, the Pride field hockey team couldn’t get the ball rolling on offense, getting shut out by Fairfield in a 2-0 road loss on Friday afternoon.
Swan, who’s been impressive so far in her first year as the Pride’s full-time goalkeeper, made six saves and surrendered just two scores, one in each half. The Stags kept up the intensity on offense all game, launching 14 shots in total, eight of them on target.
The first of those goals came late in the first half, a spot where the Pride has struggled in recent games, including surrendering two goals in the final few minutes of the first half against UMass Lowell this past Sunday, albeit in a winning effort.
Fairfield’s Andrea Soler would break a scoreless deadlock by capitalizing on a Hofstra turnover, sliding one just past Swan to the far corner of the goal, giving the Stags a 1-0 lead that would hold heading into halftime.
The Stags would tack on one more in the second half courtesy of Sam Giordano, who scored off a penalty corner to push Fairfield ahead 2-0, a lead that Hofstra couldn’t chip away at.
Hofstra’s offense, which has been gaining momentum in recent games but still lacks the firepower of years past, was held without a single shot on goal throughout Friday’s contest.
This could be attributed to a fantastic defensive display by the Stags, keeping the Pride’s attackers at bay, and getting the ball up the field and away from its own box. Fairfield also only allowed four penalty corners to the Pride, while the Stags had 10. Fairfield was only able to capitalize on one of these corners, but it was more than enough on an afternoon where Hofstra came up empty on offense.
The Pride drops back down to .500, sitting at 2-2 after Friday’s loss. The win was the first of the season for Fairfield, improving to 1-2.
Hofstra will remain in New England for its next matchup, a Sunday afternoon showdown with the University of New Hampshire, scheduled for an 11 a.m. start.