Cougars Travel to Hofstra Looking to Claim No. 2 Seed in CAA Tournament

Sunday, October 21

Hempstead, NY - University Field

1:00 PM

College of Charleston

Hofstra

Photo by: J. Brett Bennett

Cougars Travel to Hofstra Looking to Claim No. 2 Seed in CAA Tournament

10/20/2018 1:29:00 PM | Women's Soccer

COLLEGE OF CHARLESTON (10-6-1; 5-2-1 CAA) at HOFSTRA (11-5-1; 5-2-1 CAA)
Game #18 • Sun. Oct, 21, 2018 • 1:00 p.m. ET
Hempstead, N.Y. • University Field
Series: Charleston trails 1-5 all-time
Last: Oct. 22, 2017; Hofstra won 2-1

Watch: Hofstra Stream
Stats: StatBroadcast
Twitter: @CofCWSOC

CHARLESTON, S.C. – In the final Colonial Athletic Association match of the 2018 season, the College of Charleston women's soccer team look to secure a No. 2 seed in the CAA Tournament with a road win over Hofstra on Sunday afternoon. The Cougars, currently in a tie for third with the Pride on 16 points, can move into the top two positions in the standings with a victory and a Northeastern loss to William & Mary.

Scouting Hofstra
The Pride are also looking to secure a two seed in the conference tournament, home field advantage and a quarterfinal bye, with a home win and Huskies loss on Sunday. Sitting at an identical 5-2-1 in the conference slate with Charleston, Hofstra have claimed wins over Towson, Delaware, UNCW, Drexel and Elon while suffering losses to both conference leaders James Madison and Northeastern. Other notable non-conference results for the Pride include a 2-1 overtime win over Boston University alongside wins over Columbia and Stony Brook.

Series History
This will be the seventh meeting in history between the programs and the sixth under head coach Christian Michner. Hofstra hold a 1-5 series lead with the lone victory for Charleston coming back in 2016.

Last Meeting with the Pride
A 90^th minute goal on senior day gave Hofstra the win at Patriots Point. The Cougars trailed for nearly an hour after the Pride took the lead midway through the first half with a close-range finish. As the game entered the final minutes Laura Ortega whipped a cross into the box for Talia Colchico to level the game with another close-range finish before the Pride stole three points with seconds remaining. Despite the loss, CofC qualified for a second straight CAA Tournament.

Quotable – Head Coach Christian Michner
"Hofstra has arguable been the best team in our league year in and year out. They're well coached and are always tough to play against. We've had some great matches with them over the past few years and with so much on the line for both teams in terms of playoff positions, I expect another cracker on Sunday. We will head up to N.Y. with the confidence and belief that we can get a positive result."

Notables
• The College have guaranteed a top-four finish in the Colonial Athletic Association race
• Charleston have reached ten wins for the third time under head coach Christian Michner
• Charleston have won four of their last six matches
• Laura Ortega is the all-time points and all-time goals leader in Charleston history
• Ali Freitas scored her first goal of the season against Northeastern
• Meredith Holton recorded her first win of the season in goal against the Huskies
• Hannah Farmer scored her first collegiate goal against Towson
• Rachel Kim and Raymara Barreto scored their first goals of the season at Towson
• The Cougars last ten matches have been decided by a single goal or less with CofC holding a 6-3-1 record over those past eight games
• Ortega was named CAA Player of the Week on Sept. 24
• Ortega is two assists from tying the program records of 22
• Meredith Tunney continues to be the only Charleston student-athlete to play every minute of every game this season (1,601)
• Tunney was named CAA Defender of the Week on Sept. 10
• Charleston picked up their first win over William & Mary in program history on Sept. 20
• Maddy Brill-Edwards got her first assist of the season against Coastal Carolina before getting her second against Florida International

Last Time Out
In the final home game of the 2018 season, Laura Ortega's game-winner lifted Charleston over UNCW at Patriots Point. The record-breaking goal came midway through the first half with Ana Lesmes winning possession and playing the ball to Alyssa Beck. The junior knocked a ball over the defense for Ortega to chase down and slot the ball across the goalkeeper into the bottom right corner for her 25^th career goal, the most in program history. The Seahawks continued to test the Charleston back-line in the second half but it was Ortega who would come closest with a hooked shot that struck the post and a 20-yard free-kick that crashed against the crossbar. The Cougars defense held firm to see the game out and give The College its fifth CAA win of the season.

Record Breaker
CAA Preseason Co-Player of the Year Laura Ortega took control of the all-time points record by scoring two goals in two games on Sept. 20 & 23. Ortega, 68 career points, tied the record with a last-minute game-winning free-kick against William & Mary. She then took control of the record book with a 35-yard free-kick against Drexel on Sept. 23., before adding to her own record against Elon and most recently James Madison. Ortega also broke the all-time goals record with a game-winner against UNCW to move onto 25 goals. She is also two assists from the all-time assists record at Charleston.

Cougars Summary
The College was picked to finish sixth in the Colonial Athletic Association by the league's coaches. Charleston returns 24 letterwinners, including nine starters, while adding 11 newcomers to the roster. The 2018 squad will be led by 2017 All-CAA selection Laura Ortega who led the offense last season with eight goals and five assists; good for 21 points. Senior defender Maddy Brill-Edwards is a Preseason All-CAA selection alongside Ortega who is also the Preseason Co-Player of the Year.