Hempstead, N.Y. – A regular season championship will be on the line in the final two games as Hofstra can lock up the top seed in the Colonial Athletic Association Tournament with a pair of home wins against Northeastern and the College of Charleston, respectively.
Hofstra (9-5-2, 4-2 CAA) will host Northeastern on Wednesday at 7 p.m. before closing the regular season against CofC on Saturday at 7 p.m. Both games will feature free live audio via the PRIDE ZONE and Saturday's Senior Night matchup will feature free video streaming by PRIDE PRODUCTIONS.
Hofstra enters the final week of CAA regular season play in control of its own destiny. With 12 points and two games remaining, Hofstra can earn a maximum of 18 points. UNCW is currently in first place with 13 points but has only one CAA game left. The top-six finishers of the 10-team CAA qualify for the tournament with the first-and-second-place teams earning a bye in the first round and the top overall seed hosting the CAA semifinals and championship game. The third-and-fourth-place teams will host the CAA quarterfinals.
Northeastern enters the week holding the sixth and final postseason spot at 6-10 and 3-3. Hofstra is 6-13-0 all-time against Northeastern. The series dates to 1995. Hofstra has not won against the Huskies since 2007 with NU winning seven in a row. Last season, the Huskies posted a 2-0 road victory in the meeting.
The Huskies have lost three of the last four games entering Wednesday's game at Hofstra Soccer Stadium. Frantzdy Pierrot leads a balanced Northeastern attack with four goals and 11 points. Brad Fountain and Ackim Mpofu both have three goals and Christian McKenna has two goals and two assists.
The College of Charleston is in last place in the CAA at 2-9-3 and 0-4-2 for two points. The Cougars have not won a game since Sept. 7 but is coming off a 2-2 tie on Senior Day on Saturday versus Delaware at Patriots Point. CofC will have two regular season games left to earn its first league win and will play Elon on Wednesday before playing the Pride in the regular season finale on Saturday.
Nico Rittmeyer leads CofC with four goals and 10 points. Tanner Clay has contributed three goals, giving the Cougars a duo that has combined for seven of the team's 14 goals.
Hofstra sophomore midfielder Joseph Holland leads the CAA with nine assists. That total is tied for fifth best in NCAA Division I heading into Oct. 26 and trails only Wright State's Eric Lynch and Oregon State's Khiry Shelton by two for the most in the country.
Holland has been a prime playmaker as senior Maid Memic continues his strong surge in the stretch run. Memic leads Hofstra with nine goals and 20 points. He extended his goal-scoring streak to six with both of the Pride's goals in a win over Drexel, including the 88th-minute penalty-kick marker.
Freshman forward Danny Elliotthas scored all three of his career goals in CAA play while junior goalkeeper Patric Pray has a 1.02 goals-against-average and five individual shutouts this season. The Chandler, Arizona native has been the major factor in the Pride posting a league-leading 65 saves.
Hofstra is 3-1 at home this season and 10-2 at Hofstra Soccer Stadium since 2013.
