WSOC: Hofstra Faces Big Weekend At Purdue, Indiana

9/8/2010 1:56:00 PM

Hempstead, N.Y. - The Hofstra Women's Soccer team will face two key road tests this weekend when it travels to Big 10 country to face Purdue on Friday at 5 p.m. and Indiana on Sunday at 1 p.m.

The Pride comes into the weekend with a 2-1 record, with the only loss coming on the road to Boston College, which is currently ranked fifth in the nation. The trip to Purdue and Indiana will give Hofstra two chances to pick up big non-conference road wins, which could help the Pride's resume for potential NCAA at-large berths in November.

Hofstra is coming off a weekend sweep of Rhode Island (3-1) and Fordham (4-1) at the Hofstra Invitational this past weekend. The Pride outshot its two opponents by a combined 40-8, with six of its opponents' eight shots coming in the final 17 minutes of regulation, after Hofstra had established multi-goal leads and inserted several substitutes.

Junior midfielder Courtney Breen (Hicksville, N.Y.) earned the Most Valuable Player honor at the Hofstra Invitational, and was also named the Colonial Athletic Association Player of the Week on Monday. Breen assisted on the game-winning goal against Rhode Island and scored twice in the Fordham victory. Junior forward Laura Greene (Holbrook, N.Y.), senior forward Salma Tarik (Bellmore, N.Y.) and senior midfielder Tiffany Yovino (Holtsville, N.Y.) were also named to the all-tournament team.

Last year, Hofstra hosted Indiana (which was ranked 25th in the country at the time) and nearly picked up its first-ever win over a ranked team. The Pride led the Hoosiers 2-0 with 10 minutes to go, after goals from Tarik and current senior forward Kayla Pifer (State College, Pa.), both of which were assisted by Breen. However, Indiana roared back to tie the game in the 89th minute and then won in the second overtime, with graduated forward Christie Kotynski scoring both the tying and the winning goals. The Hoosiers comeback started on a direct kick from midfield from Kelly Lawrence, which bounced inside the box and went into the upper-right corner with 8:05 to play.

Hofstra moved up to tie for sixth in the latest Mid-Atlantic region rankings from the National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA). The Pride began the year fourth in the preseason poll, slipped to ninth after the Boston College loss, and moved back up to sixth after its weekend sweep of Rhode Island and Fordham. CAA foes William & Mary and James Madison hold down the top two spots in the poll. Indiana (3-2) is ranked ninth in the Great Lakes region, while Purdue, which was nationally ranked for all of last year, is currently out of the regional rankings after starting the season 3-2-1.

After its weekend swing through the Big 10, the Pride will switch its sights to the Ivy League next weekend, as it travels to Columbia on Friday and hosts Princeton on Saturday, Sept. 19 at 1 p.m.

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