Hempstead, N.Y. – Freshman Emily Hulbert's first career goal went down as a game-winning streak against a first-place opponent as Hofstra bested Northeastern, 1-0, on a damp Saturday night at Hofstra Soccer Stadium.
Northeastern entered the game with five consecutive shutouts and did not allow a goal through the first four conference games. But Hulbert broke through with a redirect off a corner in the 65th minute to improve the Pride to 8-6 overall and 3-2 in Colonial Athletic Association play. Sophomore goalkeeper Friederike Mehring stopped the only shot on goal she faced for her second consecutive shutout. Northeastern, the defending CAA champions, fell to 9-4-2 overall and 4-1 against the league.
Hofstra entered weekend with a league-leading 32 goals and a 2.46 goals-per-game average. Northeastern had six clean sheets the last seven games. Junior forward Leah Galtonnearly gave Hofstra first-half lead with a great give-and-go with senior Sam Scolarici. But Northeastern goalkeeper Paige Burnett made a great save (the first of her two total stops) to keep the game scoreless.
Burnett helped Northeastern post the second-lowest goals-against-average in Division I entering the game. The Huskies had allowed just three goals through the first 14 games. But Hulbert, who has seen an increase in playing time following the injury to sophomore Jill Mulholland, took advantage of a corner kick set up by juniors Chloe Dale and Jeannine Molleda.
Hulbert's first collegiate game was just the fourth goal Burnett allowed all season. Mehring made a first-half save and prevented Northeastern from generating any quality chances in posting her second consecutive shutout. The Pride blanked Towson, 1-0, in the previous game.
Hofstra's backs have provided lockdown performances the past two games, allowing just one on-target shot in the last 180 minutes. Sophomore Emily Agudelo senior Caylin Dudley, junior Mallory Ullrich and freshman Rhian Cleverly all helped to keep Northeastern's strikers off the scoreboard. Galton switched from forward to the back line in the later stages of the game to help Hofstra preserve the one-goal edge.
Hofstra is 11-7-2 in the all-time series. The Pride will next be in action on Friday with a road game at the College of Charleston. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m.
