Hempstead, NY – The Hofstra Field Hockey team returns from six games on the road this weekend when they host the 17th-ranked Huskies of Northeastern University on Friday, October 3 at 3 p.m. and Columbia University on Sunday, October 5 at the 1 p.m. at the Hofstra Field Hockey Stadium.

Friday's game against Northeastern is the Pride's Colonial Athletic Association opener and will be Hofstra's second consecutive game against a ranked opponent. Live stats and live audio links for both games can be found in the Quick Links section.

Hofstra is coming off a 6-2 loss at 10th-ranked Syracuse last Sunday. Senior captain Jonel Boileau scored both Hofstra goals in the first half to keep the Pride close at 3-2 at halftime. The two goals for Boileau were numbers 39 and 40 of her career making her only the sixth player in school history to score 40 or more goals. She is now just five points away from becoming the sixth player to record 100 points in a Hofstra career.

Hofstra, which is now 6-4 on the road this season, is led by sophomore forward Claudia Marin Samper with eight goals and five assists for 21 points. Boileau has posted eight goals and three assists while junior midfielder Charlotte Loehr has added six goals for 12 points. Freshman Simca Schoen leads the team with nine assists to go with her one goal. Freshman Carys Swan has recorded a 2.22 goals against average and a .662 save percentage with 43 saves in 695 minutes of action.

Friday's game against the Huskies of Northeastern is the 20th meeting between the two programs. Northeastern leads the series, 14-5. The two schools met last season in Dedham, Massachusetts with the Pride recording a 5-4 victory. The Huskies enter the week with an 8-2 record and are ranked 17th in the country. Northeastern is riding an eight-game winning streak. The Huskies have wins over Providence (5-3), Dartmouth (2-0), New Hampshire (3-2), Monmouth (2-0), Massachusetts (2-1), Harvard (1-0), Boston University (2-1) and, most recently UC Davis (7-1) last Sunday. Their losses came against Temple (4-2) and Maryland (4-1) to open the season.

Northeastern is led in scoring by sophomore Emma Lamison with five goals and four assists for 14 points. Classmate Natalie Stewart has added four goals and five assists while senior Kelly Dunn had chipped in with five goals and one assist. Sophomore Emmy Zweserijn has tallied four goals and two assists. Sophomore goalie Becky Garner has a 1.64 goals against average and a .704 save percentage with 38 saves while playing all 10 games this year.

Sunday's game against Columbia is the 18th meeting between Hofstra and the Lions. Hofstra leads the series, 9-8. The two teams squared off in 2012 at Columbia with the Lions posting a 4-2 win over the Pride. Columbia, which will host Princeton on Friday before the Hofstra game, enter the week with a 5-2 slate and coming off an 8-1 win over Georgetown last Sunday. Columbia has wins over LaSalle (3-1), Villanova (5-2), Fairfield (2-1 in OT), Brown (4-0) and the Hoyas. Their losses have come against Connecticut (4-0) and Providence (8-0).
 
Columbia is led in scoring by senior Zoe Blake with seven goals and two assists. Junior Christina Freibott has added two goals and a team-high 10 assists while sophomore Katie Ruesterholz has five goals and two assists. Senior Kyle Marsh has recorded three goals and five assists. Junior Kimberly Pianucci has a 2.10 goals against average and a .725 save percentage with 37 saves while playing in eight games this season.