WSOC: Hofstra To Face Northeastern For CAA Championship On Sunday In Game Televised On SNY

Boston, Mass. – A thrilling semifinal victory that featured a four-goal outburst and three different leads helped to put Hofstra into the Colonial Athletic Association championship game.

The Pride will now be going for their fourth CAA title and third under Head Coach Simon Riddiough when third-seeded Hofstra faces top-seeded Northeastern on Sunday at 1 p.m. from Parsons Field. SportsNet New York (SNY) will televise the game locally in New York and free live audio can be accessed via PRIDE PRODUCTIONS and locally on WRHU (88.7 FM).

Sophomore Emily Agudelo scored at 80:39 off a 45-yard free kick that broke a deadlock and sent the Pride into the sixth CAA championship game in its history. The last time Hofstra made it that far, Sam Scolarici scored in double-overtime against UNCW to take the crown.

Scolarici is currently in her senior season and is coming off a clutch performance with two goals for a four-point showing. The Aldie, Virginia native is tied with junior forward Leah Galton for both the team lead in goals with 17 and the CAA lead. Both Scolarici and Galton, who entered the week as the second-highest scoring tandem in NCAA Division I, are one goal away of tying Scolarici's single-season record of 18 set in 2013.

Hofstra (13-6-1) has won four in a row and is 7-0-1 in the last eight games entering the week. Northeastern (13-4-3) is the defending CAA champion and bested fourth-seeded William & Mary, 4-0, in the other semifinal game to clinch a return trip to the finals.

The Pride bested Northeastern, 1-0, in the regular season meeting between the schools. Freshman Emily Hulbert scored her first career goal against a Northeastern team that entered that game on Oct. 11 with five consecutive shutouts. The Huskies blanked the first four conference opponents before the Pride turned the tables. Sophomore goalkeeper Friederike Mehring stopped the only shot-on-goal she faced in that game as the back line led by junior center back Mallory Ullrich and freshman full back Rhian Cleverly ensured Hulbert's goal stood up.

Led by All-CAA First Team goalkeeper Paige Burnett and CAA Defensive Player of the Year in senior Bianca Calderone, the Huskies have shut out 15 opponents and carried a 0.30 goals-against-average before notching a clean sheet against the Tribe. While Northeastern has allowed just six goals in 20 games (including one to Hulbert), the Pride have the league's top-ranked offense with 53 goals, which is 16 more than the next-closest team.

Scolarici registered her fifth multi-goal game of 2014 and the 11th of her career with her output against James Madison. Scolarici also hit the 50-goal mark for her career with her two scoring strikes while Galton scored her 36th goal to tie her with Suzanne Newell (1994-97) for the third-most in program history.

Riddiough has guided Hofstra to its last two CAA championships and was an assistant on JoAnne Russell's staff for the first CAA title in program history in 2005.

Hofstra and Northeastern opposed each other in the championship game only once before. The Huskies won, 1-0, in double overtime for the 2008 crown in the tournament held in Williamsburg, Virginia.

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Players Mentioned

#3 Rhian Cleverly: D/M; 5' 5"; Freshman

#11 Emily Hulbert: D/M; 5' 5"; Freshman

#7 Emily Agudelo: M; 5' 5"; Sophomore

#21 Leah Galton: F; 5' 7"; Junior

#19 Sam Scolarici: F/M; 5' 3"; Senior

#15 Mallory Ullrich: D; 5' 1"; Junior

#27 Friederike Mehring: GK; 5' 5"; Sophomore

Players Mentioned

#3 Rhian Cleverly
: 5' 5"; Freshman
: D/M

#11 Emily Hulbert
: 5' 5"; Freshman
: D/M

#7 Emily Agudelo
: 5' 5"; Sophomore
: M

#21 Leah Galton
: 5' 7"; Junior
: F

#19 Sam Scolarici
: 5' 3"; Senior
: F/M

#15 Mallory Ullrich
: 5' 1"; Junior
: D

#27 Friederike Mehring
: 5' 5"; Sophomore
: GK

Hofstra University Athletics

Players Mentioned

Players Mentioned