Hempstead, NY – The 2026 season of Hofstra softball and the Susan Cassidy-Lyke Era get underway from sunny Florida beginning on February 13 with a trip to Fort Myers for the FGCU Eagle Invitational. The Pride will face hosts Florida Gulf Coast, as well as Louisiana Monroe, in five games across three days from FGCU Softball Complex on the western tip of Florida.
 
FGCU Eagle Invitational Schedule:
Friday, February 13 @ 9 a.m. vs. Louisiana Monroe
Friday, February 13 @ 11:15 a.m. vs. Florida Gulf Coast
Saturday, February 14 @ 5 p.m. vs. Florida Gulf Coast
Sunday, February 15 @ 11 a.m. vs. Louisiana Monroe
Sunday, February 15 @ 1:15 p.m. vs. Louisiana Monroe
 
Live statistics will be available for every game at the FGCU Eagle Invitational, and all games against Florida Gulf Coast will be streamed on ESPN+. These links are available on this page and the softball schedule page on GoHofstra.com.
 
After a prolific 21-year coaching career at Molloy, Cassidy-Lyke officially begins her tenure as head coach of a Pride team that returns 13 student-athletes from a squad that finished in the semifinals of the 2025 CAA Championship. Hofstra received 14 points and two first-place votes to tie with Stony Brook for first in the North Division in the 2026 CAA Preseason Poll, and Alanna Morse and Emma Falen both received Preseason All-CAA recognition.
 
Florida Gulf Coast enters the weekend at 2-3, while Louisiana Monroe sits at 2-4 heading into the FCGU Eagle Invitational. The Eagles went 29-30 in 2025 and lost in the semifinals of the ASun Tournament, and the Warhawks fell on the second day of the Sun Belt Conference Championship after a 35-22 season.
 
Hofstra is 4-3 all-time against Florida Gulf Coast, and this will be the first time Hofstra and Louisiana Monroe have faced one another on the softball diamond.