WEST LONG BRANCH, N.J. – The Hofstra Women's Soccer team opened up its 2019 season with a solid showing against Monmouth University, defeating the Hawks, 1-0 in a non-conference match at Hesse Field on the Great Lawn.
 
Junior midfielder Lucy Porter picked up right where she left off from last season, scoring Hofstra's lone goal in the first half of action off of an assist by junior forward Lucy Shepherd. In all, Hofstra had the edge on shots, 10-9, with seven of those attempts coming on target.
 
Freshman Skylar Kuzmich was outstanding in her collegiate debut in goal, recording her first-career clean sheet with five saves including several clutch stops down the stretch.
 
After both teams shook off the rust to start, Hofstra picked up the pace midway through the first half when junior forward Sabrina Bryan had her shot knocked off the back line by a Monmouth defender just 14 minutes in. Just over 10 minutes later, Porter tapped in a bouncing ball from Shepherd right in front of the goal for the 1-0 Hofstra advantage.
 
Shortly into the second half, the Pride defense stepped up to keep Monmouth off the board when Kuzmich made a one-handed, top-shelf save off of a free kick before the Pride successfully fended off a Hawk corner kick. Monmouth controlled the pace for some time, but the back line continued to come up big throughout the remainder of the contest with a big defensive clearance by junior Jordan Littleboy and another nice save by Kuzmich through traffic with under two minutes remaining.
 
Hofstra will face another tough test on Sunday when the Pride take on the sixth-ranked Penn State Nittany Lions. Kickoff at Jeffrey Field in University Park, Pa. is set for 2:30 p.m.
 
NOTES:
-Hofstra continues to remain unbeaten by the Hawks, moving to 3-0-1 in the all-time series
-Hofstra is 14-13 on opening day since the installation of the women's soccer program in 1993
-The Pride has recorded a shutout in three of its last season openers, with each of those contests resulting in a 1-0 score.