HEMPSTEAD, N.Y. – The Colonial Athletic Association regular-season champion Hofstra University women will host No. 5-seed William & Mary in a CAA semifinal at 7 p.m. Friday at Hofstra Soccer Stadium.
The game will follow the other semifinal matchup between No. 2 Drexel and No. 3 Northeastern at 4:30 p.m.
The Pride (13-3-2, 9-0-0) became just the fifth team in CAA history to go unbeaten and untied in conference play. Hofstra is now two of those teams after going 11-0 in CAA play in 2010. The Pride closed the regular season with a dramatic 2-1 win over Charleston. The Cougars knotted the score at one late in the game, but sophomore Rachel Cardinal scored with under a minute left to earn Hofstra the victory, extending the Pride’s win streak to 10 games and its unbeaten run to 12.
Over that span, Hofstra has outscored its opponents, 22-3. The team now boasts a 0.64 goals-against average, which leads the CAA and ranks 26th in Division I. The Pride also leads the league with a .857 save percentage, good for 21st nationally.
The Tribe (8-9-2, 3-4-2) upset fourth-seeded James Madison, 4-3, in the CAA quarterfinals last weekend to earn a spot in the semis. The Tribe got off to a slow start in conference play, going 0-3-1 through its first four conference matches, but has picked up steam, winning four of its past five contests. William & Mary’s only loss over that span was to defending CAA champion and No. 3 seed Northeastern.
Sarah Segan has had a strong season, carrying eight goals and four assists into the semifinal matchup.
The Pride cruised past the Tribe, 3-1, earlier in the season with goals from Lucy Porter, Kristin Desmond and Jenn Buoncore, but William & Mary holds an 11-7-2 advantage in the all-time series with Hofstra. The teams last met in the CAA Championships in 2012, a 0-0 semifinal draw that saw Hofstra advance, 4-2, on penalty kicks.
Both semifinal matches will be broadcast on CAA.tv, with live stats available through the CAA stat portal. The Hofstra-William & Mary matchup will also be available in a Pride Productions audio-only broadcast on the Hofstra portal and 88.7 WRHU FM in Hempstead and the surrounding areas. Links to game coverage can be found on the Hofstra schedule page.
The winner of the semifinal will advance to Sunday’s championship game at 1 p.m. at Hofstra Soccer Stadium. The championship will be broadcast on CollegeSportsLive/CBS Digital.
