Hempstead, N.Y. – Hofstra will look to be road warriors in making another run in the Colonial Athletic Association Tournament; starting on Saturday when the sixth-seeded Pride takes on third-seeded William & Mary at 7 p.m. in the quarterfinals from Williamsburg, Va.
The Pride (8-6-3, 2-3-2) ended the regular season undefeated in eight of the last 11 games. Head coach Richard Nuttall's team will now look to solve a Tribe squad that went 9-4-2 and 4-2-1. William & Mary enters the postseason with the league's lowest goals-against-average at 0.87 with the Tribe allowing just 14 goals in 15 games to also lead the conference.
William & Mary is receiving votes in the national NSCAA poll for the period of Nov. 5. Hofstra encountered that same situation when the teams met in the regular season on Oct. 26 when the Tribe's Josh West scored two goals in the final 14 minutes in Hofstra's 3-2 loss.
Hofstra clinched a spot in the CAA Championships for the second consecutive season after Drexel defeated the College of Charleston on Wednesday to help finalize the pairings. Now, the Pride will look to the veteran leaders to get through the weekend and earn a second straight trip to the championship weekend.
Senior Chris Griebsch leads the conference in shots (83) and shots-per-game (4.88). Besides contributing volume, the forward from Germany has increased his usual production to lead the league with eight assists. Hofstra's all-time assist leader is making a bid to secure his third consecutive CAA assist title.
Hofstra boasts one of the best tandem scorers in the league. Junior co-captain Maid Memic has 10 goals and nine scoring strikes in his last 11 games. Memic and Griebsch are second and third, respectively, in the CAA in points and points-per-game. Memic's stat line is 10-3-23 while Griebsch has set career highs with seven goals for a 7-8-22 line. Memic, a native of Kozarac, Bosnia, is Hofstra's first double-digit scorer since Johannes Grahn scored 11 goals in 2007.
William & Mary will counter with goal-scorers West and Jackson Eskay. West is fifth in the CAA with sox goals and Eskay tied for eighth with five. Hofstra's defense, led by senior co-captain and center back Tyler Botte, will try and provide a formidable back line with freshman Rory Murphy and sophomore Marius Flateboe. Freshman Nino Alfonso will look to continue adding his athleticism to the defensive effort.
Botte, who hails from nearby North Babylon, N.Y. and starred for St. Anthony's High School, has contributed to a defense that has logged four shutouts. He also added his second goal of the season with a header off a corner kick to help send Hofstra to overtime against Delaware in the regular season finale.
Midfielders Herbert Biste (senior) and sophomore Elliott Firth will also try to give Hofstra's attack a boost while competing to win the possession battle. Biste recorded a milestone with his first collegiate goal in the first meeting between the schools. The Halle, Germany product came to Hofstra in 2012 and notched his first goal in his 32nd game. The midfielder collected a loose ball and scored from nearly 30 yards out for a 2-1 Hofstra edge 54:43 into the contest.
Hofstra will now take aim against William & Mary goalkeeper Mac Phillips. The red-shirt freshman netminder has logged every second in net with eight shutouts. Hofstra could counter with either senior Roberto Pellegrini or sophomore Patric Pray. Pellegrini has made nine starts, including the final two regular season games, while Pray has made eight starts in his first season with the Pride.
