New Haven, CT - The Hofstra field hockey team pitched a shutout in Connecticut Friday night, blanking Sacred Heart in a 2-0 win from Yale University's Johnson Field. Hofstra moves to 4-4 with the win, the team's second straight victory, and put the Pioneers at 0-5 on the season.

Djuna Slort opened the scoring for the visiting Pride in the second quarter. On one of Hofstra's two penalty corners in the quarter and the fifth of the half, Frankie O'Brien sent the inbounds pass to Karissa Hough, who gave Slort a perfect set-up for the shot at the top of the arc. The senior sent in a hard shot that snuck past Sacred Heart's starter Erin Burgess off a deflection with 10:05 left before halftime.

Hofstra added to its lead with a fourth quarter goal on another penalty corner opportunity. Tara McNally directed the inbounds pass to Hough, and Cami Larsson wound up and unleashed a hard bouncer off the turn and through the legs of Samantha Maresca, who played the entire second half for the Pioneers.

Merljn van der Vegt made four saves against the Pioneers for Hofstra's first shutout of the season, and it was the fifth shut out of van der Vegt's college career. The Hofstra defense allowed just four shots to trouble van der Vegt, despite allowing Sacred Heart nine penalty corners against eight for the Pride.

Hofstra concludes the busy week with a home contest on Sunday, September 19, against Quinnipiac. The meeting between the Pride and Bobcats will take place at 1 p.m.

NOTES:
-Hofstra is now 19-0 all-time against Sacred Heart.
-Merlijn van der Vegt made four stops and recorded Hofstra's first shutout of the season, and it was the fifth shutout of van der Vegt's collegiate career.
-The last time Djuna Slort and Cami Larsson scored in the same game was against Drexel on April 7, 2021 in a 5-2 non-conference win over the Dragons.