College of Charleston
Hofstra
CofC W. Soccer Bruised by Hofstra
10/18/2014 2:06:00 AM | Women's Soccer
MT. PLEASANT, S.C. – The College of Charleston women's soccer team suffered a lopsided 5-0 defeat to Hofstra in Colonial Athletic Association play at Patriots Point on Friday night.
Charleston (5-10-1, 1-5-1 CAA) was unable to match the league's most prolific offense as five unique Pride goal scorers stretched the scoreline.
“Hofstra is a fantastic team,” said head coach Christian Michner. “They're the best team we've played so far, I'd say. They're very well coached, well organized, athletic... They get to goal and anticipate the play; they're not waiting to see what happens. My team was just second best on the night in almost every category. We didn't get to the ball enough. We didn't challenge them enough. We didn't create enough opportunities.
“It comes down to us being young and still learning a lot of lessons, and when you do that against one of the best teams in the league, the lessons can be hard. Congrats to Hofstra; they were fantastic today.”
Hofstra came in boasting the league's most efficient offense, and demonstrated why with back-to-back goals to post a 2-0 lead just 6:19 into the match. Leah Galton set up Amber Stobbs on the first effort before scoring unassisted less than a minute later.
The Cougars ardently defended out the rest of the first half to get into the locker room with optimism surrounding the outlook. The threat of Hofstra's attack compromised CofC's willingness to commit numbers forward, however, as CofC endeavored to chip into the lead.
Freshman Mary Kate Bowes nearly halved the deficit in the 25th minute when she unleashed a rip from 25 yards out which ungraciously gonged off the crossbar and caromed away from the scoring area.
Minutes after checking into the match, freshman Sarah Blakely played an inviting set piece into the box and her classmate Suzi Vallez emerged on the other end, but her touch crept inches over the bar and out of play.
The second half was less kind to the Cougars, however, as Hofstra netted a pair of goals 10 minutes into the period to remove any doubt from the result. CAA goal leader Sam Scolarici made her mark on the match with her 14th goal of the season in the 52nd minute, and Stobbs later hooked up with Jeannine Molleda for a 56th minute tally.
In the 64th minute, Emily Hulbert scored with an assist from Lulu Echeverry to push the score to 5-0, the eventual final.
Charleston's youth was on display as 10 different freshmen saw significant playing time in the contest.
The going gets no easier for the Cougars, and after coping with the league's best offense, they'll look to solve the most effective defense in the country against Northeastern on Sunday. The Huskies, who lead all of Division I in goals-allowed and shutouts per game, challenge the Cougars at 1 p.m. at Patriots Point.
“It doesn't get easier,” said Michner. “Northeastern is very, very good defensively and is one of the toughest teams in the league. They certainly will challenge us to our fullest capacity, but we'll put our best 11 players out there and battle with them on Sunday. It's a new day. I'm expecting my team to step out and have a go.”
Players Mentioned
