Hempstead, NY – Hofstra Head Field Hockey Coach Courtney Veinotte begins her first season in charge of the program's fortunes this Friday, August 30 when the Pride open the 2019 regular season against the Seahawks of Wagner College at the Hofstra Field Hockey Stadium. Game time is 1 p.m. and admission is free. The Pride will have a quick turnaround getting ready for their second contest, also at home, on Sunday, September 1 against #17 Saint Joseph's at 2 p.m.

Hofstra Pride Productions will stream, both audio and video, both contests live and free of charge on GoHofstra.com. Hofstra will provide live stats through HofstraStats.com. It will be the first live home video streams of Pride Field Hockey in school history. WRHU-FM (88.7) student broadcasters

Ryan Ye and Jesse Lindell will call the Wagner game while Eliza Kravitz and Lou Accumanno will call the Saint Joseph's contest. Links for both can be found elsewhere on this page as well as on the Hofstra Field Hockey schedule page on GoHofstra.com.

For the first time in 21 seasons, Hofstra has a new head coach in charge of the field hockey program as Veinotte was elevated from associate head coach to head coach in February after the resignation of Kathy De Angelis. Veinotte had served as associate head coach for the Pride since February 2017. Prior to coming to Hofstra, she served as an assistant coach at Maine for six seasons including the last two years as associate head coach.

Veinotte and her staff of associate head coach Kara Velez and assistant coach Courtney Deena will have 17 returnees including seven starters, and seven newcomers including one transfer. The Pride return three of their top four scorers led by 2019 Preseason All-CAA pick and 2018 All-CAA second team selection sophomore Cami Larsson. Larsson tallied a team-high seven goals and 19 points while starting all 18 on the backline. Sophomore defender Djuna Slort (3-1) and junior midfielder Madison Georgiana (2-3) were tied for third on the team in scoring with seven points while senior midfielder Madison Warfel and graduate-student defender Valerie Vogels followed with two goals and two assists each. Junior Cecelia DeSimone, who saw action in two games last year, will battle freshman Merlijn van der Vegt for the starting job in goal.

Several newcomers are also expected to contribute early for the Pride this season. Junior midfielder Lindsie Rogers, a transfer from the shuttered University of the Pacific program, tallied two goals for the Tigers while playing in 20 games and starting 14. Freshman midfielder Samantha Spera, a two-time All-Pennsylvania selection from Plymouth-Whitemarsh High School, tallied 17 goals and nine assists as a senior. Freshman midfielder Mercedes Currie, a three-time All-New York State pick from Camden High School, tallied 18 goals and eight assists last season. Dutch freshman Merlijn van der Vegt will battle returnee Cecelia DeSimone for the starting job in goal after the departure of last year's starter Betty Bosma.

The Seahawks of Wagner will be making their NCAA Field Hockey debut on Friday. The Seahawks are coached by former Sacred Heart University assistant coach Niki Miller, who was hired earlier this month after a coaching transition.

The Hawks of Saint Joseph's enter the season ranked 17^th in the Penn Monto/National Field Hockey Coaches Association Division I Preseason Poll following their 18-3 mark and NCAA Championship appearance in 2018. The Hawks return three of their top four scorers from a year ago led by sophomore forward Tonya Botherway, who tallied team-highs of 23 goals and 56 points. Junior forward Sara Hayes added 10 goals off the bench and classmate Emily Henry chipped in eight goals and four assists. Senior goalie Victoria Kammerinke posted a 1.05 goals against average with 68 saves and a .756 save percentage while starting all 21 games.

Friday's contest against Wagner is the first of six consecutive home games for the Pride over a 17-day span.