Charlottesville, Va. – Sophomore midfielder Jill Mulholland scored the go-ahead goal in the 88th minute to lift Hofstra to a 2-1 win over Duke in the opener of the Virginia Nike Soccer Classic on Friday afternoon from Klockner Stadium.
Mulholland scored from 15 yards out off a free kick for her third goal in the last two games. The Levittown, New York native notched her second game-winning goal of the season to give Hofstra win over a Duke team that made last season's NCAA Tournament quarterfinals.
Sophomore goalkeeper Friederike Mehring made six saves and senior forward Sam Scolarici continued her torrid streak by scoring a goal in the 62nd minute to help Hofstra improve to 4-2. Duke which was receiving votes in the latest NSCAA national poll, fell to 3-4.
Mehring tied a season high with six saves, matching her total against UConn on Opening Day on Aug. 22. Duke's only goal came on Christina Gibbons' 79th-minute penalty kick that tied the score.
Both teams played a scoreless opening half with Ali Kershner making two saves and Mehring stopping three. Duke put in E.J. Proctor to start the second half and Hofstra broke through at 61:07. Scolarici capitalized on a failed clearance and pushed a shot into the vacant net.
Scolarici, who set Hofstra's all-time goals record with hat trick versus Indiana State in the previous game, notched her eighth goal of the season and 41st of her career to give the Pride the victory over the Blue Devils in the first all-time meeting between the schools. Scolarici increased her career point total to 88, which trails only Suzanne Newell by one for the most in program history. Newell registered 89 points from 1994-97.
Duke nearly scored its first goal in the 57th minute when Rebecca Quinn's shot hit the post. Scolarici then scored to give Hofstra the lead and the Blue Devils remained scoreless when Kara Wilson's shot hit the crossbar in the 66th minute.
Hofstra made a defensive save right before a foul was called in the box, setting up Gibbons for her second goal of the season with a scoring strike off the spot kick at 78:58.
Mehring saved Gibbons' shot in the 85th minute and Mulholland prevented overtime by scoring her fourth goal of the season with 2:56 remaining. Duke's last-gasp attempt to tie the game was thwarted when an 88th-minute corner kick failed to generate a scoring chance.
Hofstra will have a chance to beat another strong NCAA Tournament contender when the Pride takes on second-ranked Virginia on Sunday at 2:30 p.m. in the conclusion of the tournament. Virginia is 5-0 and has allowed one goal this season to move up to the second spot in the NSCAA latest poll.
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