Hempstead, NY - The 2021 season of Hofstra field hockey rolls along as the Pride begins Colonial Athletic Association play on the road against William & Mary on Friday at 6 p.m., followed by a 1 p.m. contest on Sunday against James Madison.
Both games will be streamed live on FloLive, and both games will also feature live stats. These links can be found at the top of this page and on the field hockey schedule page on GoHofstra.com
The Pride open CAA play following a 3-2 overtime defeat to Rider on September 24, putting their record at 5-5 entering conference action.
Cami Larsson and
Lara Borensztein each scored for Hofstra against the Broncs, and
Merlijn van der Vegt made three saves in the loss. Larsson's goal was her second of the season and her sixth point of the season, while Borensztein scored her fourth of the season to put her tied with
Mercedes Currie for the team-lead.
Borensztein and
Mercedes Currie currently lead the team with four goals and eight points apiece, while
Eline Oldeman has tallied three goals and two assists, and
Djuna Slort has produced four assists and one goal, ranking her in the national top 50 in assists per game with 0.44. In net, van der Vegt continues to shine, ranking in the national top 25 in save percentage (14th, .776), goals against average (23rd, 1.48) and saves per game (25th, 5.20).
Picked to finish third in the CAA Preseason Poll, William & Mary enters Friday sporting an 0-6 record, but have played a very challenging non-conference schedule, with four opponents ranked in the Penn Monto/NFHCA Division I National Coaches Poll. The Tribe returns two-time NFHCA All-Region Second Team selection Cara Menges, while all three of their 2020 All-CAA honorees in Tabby Billingham (Second Team), Sally Snead (Second Team), and Jayden Moon (Rookie Team) are back. Lauren Curran currently leads the team with five points on two goals and an assist, while Maddie George has started the last two games in goal and sports a 3.09 goals against average with 14 saves.
Last year's CAA Championship runner-up and the preseason favorite to win the conference, James Madison will face Northeastern on Friday before hosting Hofstra on Sunday. The Dukes begin conference play at 4-4, with three losses to nationally-ranked opponents. Eveline Zwager has picked up right where she left off after winning the 2020 CAA Player of the Year award, as the junior forward currently leads the conference in points (18) and goals (seven) and ranks eighth in the country in points per game (2.12) and 12th in goals per game (0.88). Graduate transfer Florien Marcussen has started all eight games in net for the Dukes, and she ranks second in the conference with a 1.76 goals against average.
Hofstra is 7-15 all-time against William & Mary, with the Tribe winning 4-2 in the last meeting in 2019. Meanwhile, James Madison leads the all-time series against Hofstra, 15-5, and have won the last four contests against the Pride.
