Newton, Mass. - Junior midfielder Courtney Breen (Hicksville, N.Y.) scored on a header off a free kick to tie the score for No. 23 Hofstra in the first half, but No. 18 Boston College regrouped and earned a 3-1 win over the Pride in the second round of the NCAA Women's Soccer Tournament on Sunday afternoon at Newton Soccer Field.
The loss ends Hofstra's season at 19-3, with two of the losses coming to Boston College on the road. The Eagles also knocked off the Pride in the season-opener (5-0) back on Aug. 27, before the Pride won the next 18 games in a row to set a school record. Boston College (15-6-1) will move on to the Sweet 16 next weekend, when it will face West Virginia.
Boston College struck first at the 17:16 mark, when All-American midfielder Kristie Mewis had the ball outside the left edge of the box, and placed a perfect chip shot over the top of Hofstra goalkeeper Krista Thorn (Smithtown, N.Y.), who was at the near post, and into the side netting inside the far post, her tenth goal of the season.
Breen tied the score with 16:08 left in the first half off a free kick from just over midfield. Sophomore defender Amy Turner (Stocksbridge, England) took the free kick and played a long ball over the top of the Boston College defense. Breen made a back post run, and got to the ball at the top of the six yard box and was able to head it past Jillian Mastroianni and into the left side of the net for her fourth goal of the year.
Hofstra appeared ready to go in level 1-1 into halftime, but Boston College struck on a free kick of its own with 3:58 left in the first half. Hannah Cerrone took the kick and blistered a line drive to the far post. The ball carried over the outstretched hands of Thorn and Zoe Lombard made a back post run and was able to volley the ball out of the air and into the net for her first collegiate goal to give the Eagles back the lead 2-1.
The Pride nearly knotted the game early in the second half, as senior forward Kayla Pifer (State College, Pa.) had a shot blocked that popped into the air and landed on the feet of senior forward Salma Tarik (Bellmore, N.Y.). Tarik beat Mastroianni low, but Cerrone cleared the ball off the line in the 57th minute to keep the score 2-1.
Just two minutes later, Boston College struck for an insurance goal against the flow of play, as Mewis played a through ball into the left side for Stephanie Wirth. Freshman goalkeeper Emily Morphitis (London, England) came off her line, but Wirth just beat her to the ball at the top of the box and rolled the ball into the net.
Hofstra had one more great scoring chance right after that, as junior forward Laura Greene (Holbrook, N.Y.) took a 20-yard blast that hit the frame of the goal where the crossbar meets the post and bounced back into the field of play. Mastroianni then barely beat Tarik to the loose ball at the top of the six with the net vacant.
Boston College had only a 10-9 edge in shots on the day, as the Pride played a strong second half, outshooting the Eagles 7-4. The Eagles, in fact, took only 21 shots in their two games with Hofstra this season, and eight of them went in. Thorn and Morphitis each had two saves, and Mastroianni had one for the Eagles.
The loss ends the career for Hofstra's six seniors, including CAA Player of the Year Tiffany Yovino (Holtsville, N.Y.) and Tarik, who each had 12 goals this season, and senior defender Dana Bergstrom (Billerica, Mass.), who had 10 assists this fall. Yovino and Pifer ended as the winningest players in school history with 58 wins over their four years, including two NCAA victories (1-0 over Ohio State in 2007, and 1-0 over UConn on Friday). They were also a part of the two winningest seasons in school history (18-4 in 2007 and 19-3 this year).
