Hempstead, N.Y. – Hofstra will again be on the road to continue a packed non-conference slate with two away games upcoming, starting with a Friday matchup at New Hampshire at 7 p.m. followed by a Sunday afternoon game at Vermont with a 12 p.m. kickoff.
Hofstra (2-2-1) will continue a stretch in which seven of the team's first eight games will come on the road. The Pride is 2-1-1 away from Hofstra Soccer Stadium and will oppose a New Hampshire squad that is 2-4 following road losses to Air Force and Denver.
Both games will feature live video by the hosting school with live statistics available for the UNH matchup.
Sophomore midfielder Joseph Holland enters the week with a four-game point streak, racking up eight total points in that stretch along with goals in back-to-back games at Fairleigh Dickinson and versus Dartmouth. Holland leads Hofstra in points and is the only Pride player to score two goals this season besides senior forward Maid Memic.
Hofstra is 6-2-1 in the all-time series against New Hampshire. Last season, goalkeeper Patric Pray made three saves in his first collegiate start and Memic provided the only offense with a 57th-minute goal to lead Hofstra to a 1-0 win. Memic's 19 shots leads the team this season while Pray has started all six games and has a .719 save percentage, 23 total saves and one shutout.
The series dates to 1995 when both schools were members of the North Atlantic Conference and later in the America East. The teams have not squared off since 2006. Hofstra is 6-1 in the last seven meetings dating to 1997.
UNH has played just one game at home, losing to Bryant at home. The Wildcats have been shutout four times this season but have also logged a clean sheet against opponents in the team's two victories. UNH was blanked in the last two games and is on a scoreless streak of 2014:18.
David Schlatter and Christopher Wingate each have one goal for the Wildcats to account for the team's only goal-scoring.
Vermont is 5-1 following a 3-2 win against Jacksonville. The Catamounts are led offensively by Brian Wright, who has five goals and two assists for 12 points in six games. Vermont has a balanced supplemental attack with seven players logging one goal.
Hofstra is 4-5-1 in the all-time series against Vermont, including a 2-1 loss in Burlington in 2013. The series dates to 1995 when both schools were members of the North Atlantic Conference and later in the America East. Vermont has won four of the last five meetings, including wins in the previous two seasons.
To improve on its .500 start, Hofstra will look for its experience players to continue to step up. Senior midfielder Elliott Firth assisted on Holland's goal against Dartmouth on Sunday for his first collegiate assist. Sophomore Nino Alfonso, Rory Murphy and Harri Hawkins have also made contributions with each scoring their collegiate goals this season.
In net, sophomore Brian McPartland made his NCAA debut and turned aside two Dartmouth on-target shots for his first two collegiate saves in playing the second half. Senior defender Daniel Grundei has supported both Pray and McPartland as a center back with the Towson transfer starting all six games.
Game Notes
