Lucy Porter scored twice for Hofstra. (Photo courtesy of Hofstra)
HEMPSTEAD, N.Y. – For the first time in 457 days, the Hofstra University women returned to the pitch and faced Stony Brook University in en route to a wide-open 4-3 win in their 2021 season opener at the Hofstra Soccer Stadium Sunday.
Hofstra, which finished 11th in the nation and first in the Colonial Athletic Association in goals in 2019, scored three goals in the second half.
Senior Lucy Porter scored twice for the Pride, while senior Sabrina Bryan and junior Miri Taylor found the back of the net once. Bryan added two assists. Freshman Louise Hayden and senior Amanda Ebbesson tallied one assist.
The Pride scored three goals off corner kicks.
Porter has 33 career goals which is fifth in program history. She needs three more to tie Suzanne Newell. She also has 78 career points, tying her for sixth in Hofstra history with Jill Mulholland.
Bryan has 27 career goals and is tied for eighth all-time in program history with Jerilyn Marinan. She also has 72 points, which is eighth in program history, just behind Porter and Mulholland.
Stony Brook jumped on the Pride early as Alyssa Francese scored in the 15th minute. Just under three minutes later, Porter nearly leveled the score but her shot from just in front of the goal tapped the post.
The Pride attempted three consecutive corner kick opportunities within a minute span before Shepherd unleashed for a shot that hit the crossbar with three minutes remaining in the first half. The hosts finally broke through its fourth successive corner kick when Bryan used her dominant left foot to send a pass into the center of the box. Stony Brook’s goalkeeper then punched out the pass to Hayden, who tapped a perfectly controlled past to Taylor for the finish with 43 seconds left in the first half for a 1-1 tie.
Just over four minutes into the second half, Stony Brook answered with its second goal. In the 54th minute, Bryan collected a pass along the left wing and made a quick move past her defender, finishing with her right foot to the lower left corner to knot it at 2-2. The Pride took its first lead less than two minutes later with yet another goal from a corner kick. Bryan sent it in to Ebbesson as Porter tapped it home.
Hofstra put the icing on the cake in the 63rd minute with another successful corner kick, when Bryan again sent it in on the far side before Porter finished with a header.
Stony Brook converted a penalty kick in the 80th minute, but Hofstra controlled possession the remainder of the way to secure the win.
Hofstra is slated to return to action Thursday, Feb. 25 at 7 p.m. for a non-conference match against Fairleigh Dickinson University. Live video and audio as well as live statistics will be available for the match. This game is closed to the public and no tickets will be sold.
