Towson, MD – Despite being reduced to 10 players following a sending off in the third quarter, Hofstra came away with a 1-0 win on the road over Towson from the TU Field Hockey Complex in Colonial Athletic Association action thanks to a nine-save effort from goalkeeper Merlijn van der Vegt.

Hofstra's win moves them to 6-6 overall and 1-1 in the CAA, while Towson slips to 4-7 overall and 0-1 in the conference.

Fede Schroder put the Pride in front with the first goal of her collegiate career five minutes into the second quarter. On an attacking opportunity for the Pride, Simryn Desai collected a loose ball inside the Towson 23-meter line and laid a pass off to a wide-open Schroder. With no one around her, Schroder brought the ball into the shooting arc and fired off a low, fast shot past the outstretched leg of Towson netminder Tessa Scheenstra and into the back of the net.

The momentum of the game shifted when Samantha Spera was given a straight red card halfway through the third quarter on a foul, dropping the Pride to 10 players with over a quarter-and-a-half still to play. Despite the disadvantage, the Hofstra defense stood tall to deny the hosts a tying goal, with van der Vegt making six of their nine saves in the fourth quarter, to earn the first conference win of the season.

The nine van der Vegt saves are the most they made in a game this season since a 10-save outing against Wagner back on August 29. Cami Larsson led the Pride with three total shots, and Desai sent two shots on goal.

Towson's Scheenstra made five saves for the Tigers in the loss, while Sarah Hatfield had three of her game-high four shots stopped by van der Vegt.

Hofstra returns home for a pair of games against CAA competition. The Pride will host Monmouth (4-7, 1-1 CAA) on Friday, October 14, at 3 p.m., followed by a 1 p.m. contest on Sunday, October 16, against #20 William & Mary (7-4, 1-0 CAA).

Notes:
-Hofstra improves its all-time record to 32-11 against Towson. Today was the 12th-straight for the Pride over Towson.
-With nine saves, Merlijn van der Vegt now has 277 saves for their career. They need just seven saves to move past Kaitlyn De Turo (283, 2009-13) for the 10th-most saves in a career at Hofstra.
-Simryn Desai has scored five points in two games to start the month of October.
-Towson narrowly outshot Hofstra, 11-10, with seven of Towson's shots coming in the fourth quarter.