Hempstead, NY - The 2025-26 Hofstra University Athletics season kicks off Thursday night when the Pride women's soccer team hosts Saint Joseph's University. Game time at Captains Field is set for 7 p.m. The game will be streamed live on FloCollege with live statistics also available.

Hofstra is coming off an 8-5-6 season in 2024 that saw the Pride advance to the CAA Semifinals. The Pride returns a veteran club with 19 players including leading scorer Millie Davies, who had seven goals and five assists from her midfield position last season. Graduate forward Mathilde Braithwaite (5 goals, 1 assist), senior midfielders Thorhildur Thorhallsdottir (3 goals, 4 assists) and Aimee Hodgson (1 goal, 3 assists), and junior defender Sasha McTiffin (3 assists) also return to bolster the offense. Defensively, graduates Gabriella Marte and Olivia Pearse are back. Marte started all 19 games and logged a team-high 1703 minutes while chipping in a goal and two assists. Pearse missed all but the first three games of the season after suffering a season-ending injury. Other returnees include forwards Margaret Peterson and Kendyl Peterson, forward/midfielders Carly-Ann Dziewirz and Hailey Moschitta, midfielders Amy Meadows and Alexia Bromfield, defenders Emma Johnson, Jill Conlon, Eila Wennerholm, Ava Pickard, and Ava Lanfredi, and goalkeeper Carly Travers. 

Several newcomers are expected to have immediate impacts on the Pride led by senior midfielder Manon Lebargy. A transfer from Middle Tennessee, Lebargy was the C-USA Midfielder of the Year last season after scoring 13 goals with four assists. Morehead State transfer Lilly Bailey, a sophomore, will push for time in goal after starting 17 games as a freshman. Central Florida transfer Polly Watson will add to the midfield, while Jacksonville State transfer Alexia Des Croisselles should contribute on defense. A pair of freshmen - forward/midfielder Jadyn Hsu and defender Jessica Martin - will also look to garner playing time. Senior goalkeeper Marisa Dambach, who joined the team in the spring, rounds out the newcomers. 

Saint Joseph's is coming off a 9-4-7 season in 2024. The Hawks advanced to the Atlantic 10 Semifinals and return leading scorers Emily Hanrahan (7 goals) and Sarah Fisher (6 goals, 2 assists). 

Hofstra is 4-0 all-time against Saint Joseph's. The teams last met during the 2023 season with the Pride posting a 1-0 victory over the Hawks behind a goal from Wiktoria Fronc. Davies and Braithwaite notched assists. 

The Pride continue a season-opening homestand with a Sunday afternoon game against Quinnipiac. Kick-off is set for 1 p.m.