Hempstead, N.Y. – After splitting a four-game road trip that featured games against multiple ranked opponents, the Pride will return home to Hofstra Soccer Stadium on Friday with a 7 p.m. matchup against Yale. Hofstra will then make a quick road trip to Monmouth on Sunday at 1 p.m. to continue the non-conference slate.
Hofstra (4-3) is coming off a two-game split in the Virginia Nike Soccer Classic in which the Pride bested a Duke squad receiving votes in the latest NSCAA national poll before dropping a close decision to No. 2 Virginia. Hofstra will now face Yale (3-1) as the Pride looks to improve to 3-0 at home.
Live stats for Friday's can be found at HofstraStats.com and live audio can be found on the PRIDE ZONE. To purchase tickets, please call the Hofstra Athletics Ticket Office at (516) HOF-TIXX.
The Pride leads the Colonial Athletic Association in goals (21) and points (55) and is second with saves with 31 as Hofstra has out-scored opponents, 21-12. The forward duo of senior Sam Scolarici and junior Leah Galton continues to impress with the tandem accounting for 13 of Hofstra's total goals.
Scolarici, who set Hofstra's all-time goals record and has 41 for her career, notched her league-leading eighth goal of the season against Duke, Galton, who has five goals, scored against a Virginia squad that is undefeated and was ranked second in the national poll at the time of the game. Galton, who made the MAC Hermann Trophy Watch List earlier this season, had needed just nine shots to score those five goals and her 11 points trails only Scolarici's 18 for the team lead.
Scolarici is tied for fourth in NCAA Division I in goals and is seventh in points. Her efforts helped Hofstra earn the eighth spot in the NSCAA Mid-Atlantic regional poll released on Sept. 3 (an updated poll is expected later this week).
Hofstra will be playing Yale for just the second time in history and the first since 2009. The Bulldogs won the first meeting, 3-0, in New Haven, Connecticut. Yale is 3-1 and will play Saint Peter's on Tuesday night. The Bulldogs allowed just two goals through the first four games with shutouts against Quinnipiac and Western Kentucky. Yale's only defeat was a 2-1 overtime loss to Manhattan.
Senior Frannie Cox has three of Yale's seven goals and leads the team with eight points. Melissa Gavin is one of the team's playmakers with a goal and an assist along with a team-high 17 shots. In net, Elise Wilcox and Rachel Ames have split time almost evenly by combing on two shutouts. Wilcox has not allowed a goal in 180 minutes with nine saves.
Hofstra, which defeated Bucknell and Saint Joseph's at home this season, is 15-2-2 at home since 2012. Scolarici will be looking to reach another milestone in front of those home fans and improve on that record, as the Aldie, Virginia native enters with 89 career points, which is tied with Suzanne Newell for the program record set from 1994-97.
Hofstra will play Monmouth for a second consecutive year. In 2013, Scolarici scored to help Hofstra post a 2-1 win over the Hawks at home in the first all-time meetings between the schools.
Monmouth started the season strong, going 5-2 with four straight wins entering Sunday's game against the Pride. The Hawks have not allowed a goal since last month (Aug. 29) with shut out wins against Seton Hall, NJIT, Fairleigh Dickinson and Lafayette in September.
Game Notes
