Sunday, Nov. 14
After a heartbreaking end to our winning streak, we eagerly awaited our placement in the NCAA tournament. Being a transfer, I have never experienced the excitement and nervousness of finding out our destiny as Tiff, Kayla, and Butts did in the 2007 season. As we saw our name flash across the TV screen, fate brought us back to the place that the season had started-playing at Boston College. We were going to take on the UConn Huskies, a team that has had a lot of history and success as a program in the NCAA, yet we were excited to show the nation what Hofstra was all about.
One of the best things about this draw in the tournament is that we were going to be in my home state and my family and friends were going to be able to see me play in my first and last NCAA tournament-something that I have been awaiting my whole soccer career.
We practiced hard during the week as always, getting prepared to take on some Big East foes. On Thursday after our travel to Boston, we took a ride over to my house in Billerica for some good food and good laughs. After stuffing our faces in pasta and desserts, and playing a little "Disney Scene it?" (which Kylie and Grace proved to be amazing at), we headed back to the hotel and rest up for our game the next day.
We went into the game with what seemed to be a little more of a burst of energy because we knew that this could be the end, and we did not what that to be the case, especially with the amazing season we have been having throughout the past 3 months. UConn did not realize what Hofstra was going to bring, and we flustered and frustrated them right from the start. We went up 1-0, ultimately proving to be just enough to win the first round of the NCAA tournament and move onto Sunday!
After a late comeback by BC against BU, it really brought us back to the beginning of the season. We are now off to play BC on their home field and we hope to get some revenge on them. I hope they are prepared because they are not playing against the same Hofstra team they saw at the beginning of the season. We are a new, quietly confident team who are ready to take on the Eagles again and they will not be able to take us lightly.
It is time to show them what "WE HOFSTRA" is all about!!
LET'S GO HU!!!
Dana Bergstrom - #11
Friday, Nov. 5
Hello Hoffy Fans!
I believe it is time to update our fans on what has been going on both on and off the field this week. Firstly, I want to congratulate all of the girls as well as Simon who won awards last night at the CAA banquet. Secondly, I am happy to report that we are now 17-1, still unbeaten in our conference and still untied since our season began. I cannot begin to describe how proud I am to be on this team and I cannot fathom how incredible of a ride it has been. Now we have to go into this CAA Tournament, proud of the past, but aware that it is only truly special if we can come away with a Conference Trophy.
Tonight's game can not be taken lightly, and it is the first game in our new season. It will surely not be given to us, we have to go and get it ourselves. I have no doubt that each and every one of us will work our hardest and more importantly, work for each other! I love you all, now lets go out there and get our 18th win! "One and on"
Kayla
Wednesday, Oct. 27
It seems like just yesterday that I was coming into my first day of preseason, the scared little freshman excited to start a new chapter in life. I can't believe that now it is my turn to be celebrated as a senior, that these next few games, will be the last of my soccer career at Hofstra. It's a bitter sweet feeling, thinking of all of my memories, on the field and off. The great friends that I have made along the way, the success that we accomplished and the deficits that we overcame. I couldn't ask for more for my senior year. It's a perfect season thus far, 16-1 overall and undefeated 10-0 in conference play. Now that it is getting close to the end and reality is hitting home, I only want to keep playing, to keep winning, and most of all, to keep making memories with my best friends.
Northeastern is a major rival, and they are the last team that stands in our way of our perfect, undefeated conference season. Although we have already clinched first place, broken the winning streak record, and are nationally ranked, we still remain humble. We are a proud team, proud of each other and excited to share this moment, but we know that our job is not over. We know that we still need to take every game as serious as the first, and that we need to work hard for our wins. I am confident that each and every girl will give 100% physically, emotionally, and mentally on Saturday, I know that I will. We play for each other, and on Saturday I will be playing for my coaches, my parents, my team, my fellow seniors, and most importantly, myself. I am excited to see where the rest of this season takes us, and I will not be satisfied until we have won the championship.
Tiffany Yovino - #18
Monday, Oct. 18
What a crazy couple of weekends! Last weekend we were playing for our 11th and 12th win of the season. After the 4-1 win against Towson, we had finally made history and beat the longest winning streak of years past! We were all extremely excited, not only to make history, but also to do it with such dominating fashion. That focus and determination continued into Sunday against a physical George Mason team. We knew it would take a lot of guts and physicality to play against this team, but we were ready for them. Our defense bore down and refused to let them get to our goalies, and our offense was just unbelievably clinical in front of the net. That weekend showed that we had something special going on and we were not ready for it to end.
Tuesday rolled around and we finally, for the first time in school history, found ourselves ranked in the top 25 at #23 in the nation. WE HOFSTRA! Our efforts and desire that have been on display all season finally rang in the ears of the nation, recognized for all that we have done this season. After all the celebration, we knew that we still had to work hard in practice that week to get ready for our long trip and tough road matches against William and Mary and Old Dominion.
Winning never comes easy, and that was clear throughout these two games this weekend. We stepped onto W&M's soggy wet field, knowing that we had to bring everything to this game. After scoring 10 minutes in, W&M did not let down, as we knew they wouldn't. KT came up with some clutch saves, as well as a little help from someone above, to bring us into half time winning 1-0. We knew one goal was not going to cut it, and we were proven right after W&M scored just a few minutes into the second half. We had plenty of time and did not panic; we would somehow find a way to come up with the win. It did not come easy and we had to battle. Then, Salma put one away with 11 minutes left in the game. We knew that we needed to keep pressing. Then, with about 2 minutes left, our hearts sank, and they tied the score up at 2 apiece. There was no way that any of us wanted this game to go into overtime. It was our time to show W&M how we literally "refuse to lose." With 45 seconds left, Tiff scored a great header goal, keeping us from going into OT, and keeping the streak alive.
Now Sunday posed another challenge that we had not faced since the beginning of the season - being down a goal. Though we gave up the goal early in the first half and went into half time down a goal, we all knew that this was not over; we were going to find a way to win, just as we have been all season. We put tons of pressure on them and ended up scoring three goals in the second half and Emily made a great save on a penalty kick (sorry Em! I really didn't do anything bad!). We found a way to win and continue this amazing streak.
So...14 game winning streak?! Who knew that this would be happening to us? And how?
All we can say is it's because...WE HOFSTRA!
Dana Bergstrom #11
Friday, Oct. 8
Hello again blog followers,
It has been a while since my last update, so I figured it was getting to be about that time for another Hofstra Women's Soccer update for our fans. We are currently standing strong holding the first place spot in the region as well as in our conference. As of Tuesday we took over first place in the Aquista Trattoria Big Apple Soccer poll, but more impressively, our RPI position moved up to 16th in the country! Now, with that being said, it is not a surprise. I am thrilled that my senior season is panning out better than I could have ever imagined, but I think I speak for the team when I say that we are not satisfied.
Although we have already matched last year's wins (10) and are also on the verge of making school history with a win against Towson, we are not getting ahead of ourselves. This week at practice, we did what we always do, worked hard, complained about how sore we were, worked on individual work, and most importantly, laughed amongst each other.
The further we go into the season the more I realize that this team has something special. It's not just about the winning, it's about how we interact with each other and how everyone has found their niche on the team. We have a difficult schedule ahead of us for this weekend, but I know if we prepare the same way we have been and keep playing for our teammates, then we will see the results we both want and deserve.
Refuse to lose girls!
Kayla
Friday, Sept. 24
We started out our preseason with a hard schedule, but have conquered most games. It's a great feeling being 6-1 heading into CAA's, but this is only the beginning. This weekend we face our rivals of JMU and the Rams of VCU. Every game in conference play is always a challenge. Every team has so much talent and desire to win. As long as we come out strong from the start, we shouldn't have a problem though. I am confident in our team; everyone has stepped up their game and contributed as an individual. Scoring is scattered, Salma with several, Greene right behind, Courtney always contributing and now even Turner and Butts!
More than scoring though is our determination to shut teams down and control the game. JMU is going to come out strong, but as long as we play our game, possess the ball and counter attack with numbers and with speed, no team can handle us. We have to take it one game at a time, and tonight is our first real challenge. Our real season starts tonight, and if we want to make it to the CAA Tournament, we must come away with a win.
Tiffany Yovino - #18
Saturday, Sept. 11
There we were, in Big 10 country. We stood on the beautiful grass pitch surrounded by miles and miles of cornfields, awaiting the start of our game against the Purdue Boilermakers. They had T-shirts to throw into the stands and bouncy castles to run through, but that did not intimidate us. We were ready to show them what the Hofstra Pride were all about. We stepped onto the field with confidence and determination-a desire to come away with a win.
As we came together at halftime with a 0-0 tie, we knew it was not going to stay that way for long. Each one of us felt that we would put one away and beat this team. As we stepped on the field for the second half, we did just that, plus tacking on two more goals to give us some insurance. It was an amazing feeling after Tiff scored the first goal, we were overjoyed as we came together in celebration. At that point, 10 minutes into the half, there was still a long way to go in the game. We celebrated quickly and then got right back to business; we were not done yet. We stayed composed and confident as we dominated and found Salma to place two more great goals in the back of the net. I was elated throughout the rest of the game, as I am sure everyone else was feeling, trying my best to stay focused and manage the rest of the game to the best of my ability. When the final whistle blew we celebrated amongst the astonished Big 10 fans as we finally let them know........WE HOFSTRA!!
All celebration aside, it is now time to refocus and get ready to take on the Hoosiers! Go HU!!
Dana Bergstrom - #11
Thursday, Sept. 9
Heyyyy everybody!!
So, I thought I could intrigue our fan base by writing this blog while en route to Indiana via Continental Airlines. I'm sorry to admit that I ended up falling asleep alongside Greene to the sweet murmurs of Dani, as she whispered the rosary during our take off (I'm not even kidding!!). But despite this slight setback in plans, I'm sure I can find some other way to win over all the dedicated fans of HU women's soccer team!!
Now that I have semi-gathered myself from the long commute from New York to Indiana, I guess it would seem fitting to talk about this past week's preparations. Like usual, we worked hard Tuesday and prayed that we would make it through the fitness. I'm happy to say we made it! Wednesday strolled along with friendly competitions within the team (mainly the forwards, as the defenders actually worked hard). Although both the forwards and the defenders all got a good laugh when a ball was served into the box and was punch-cleared by Emily right into her own defender, Amy Turner's, face. It was Amy's best goal yet!! All in all we worked hard and managed to find a way to enjoy ourselves.
I believe that it goes without saying that this weekend's performance is a huge stepping stone for this team. We are fully aware of the Big Ten conference and understand these teams will be strong and competitive. But more importantly it is a chance to show that "We Hofstra", right?? After last year's anything but satisfying loss to Indiana, we've been waiting for a chance for redemption. As Simon would say, "He would give his right arm/leg/anything to play" and with the first-class facilities we'll be playing in this weekend, I don't think anyone would give up the opportunity to play!
Let's go ladies!!
Kayla Pifer - #13
Thursday, Sept. 2
Hey Everyone,
Coming off of a pretty hard game against Boston College, I'm excited for our tournament this coming weekend. Although we lost 5-0 to BC, we saw the potential that our team has for our upcoming season. We had some good chances in front of goal and possessed the ball for a high percentage of the game. Unfortunately, BC had some real talent and were clinical in front of net. I was proud of our team though. We have a lot of talent and our team chemistry is still building. We are moving forward and keeping a positive outlook for this weekend.
We had a great week of practice incorporating some running and hard work with inter-squad scrimmages, and even some fun games and good laughs. Our team is really coming along, improving every day. We are beginning to see each individual's strengths and everyone is contributing their own leadership and help in some way. I think a major benefit of our team is the friendships and bonds that we have on and off of the field. We each have our own hectic schedule, yet we all still seem to meet for dinner, other Hofstra Sporting Events and weekend gatherings.
Last day of practice today before our game against the University of Rhode Island. Last chance to fix any problems and really prepare to play. Everyone seems excited and I know if we play our game we will come out with a "W".
Tiffany Yovino - #18
Wednesday, August 25
It seems like just a few days ago were were running sprints to the sounds of loud beeps echoing throughout the soccer stadium. Oh wait! Ugh, that was a few days ago! But now we have finally finished preseason after working our tails off to prepare for the season. We are geared up and reading to start a great year together. This past Saturday all our hard work paid off in our win against Marist at the first annual Town Of Oyster Bay Supervisor's Cup, showing Long Island the skills and the depth that has been added to our team and how prepared we are for this upcoming year.
Now we are heading to my beautiful home state of Massachusetts to take on No. 7 Boston College for our first game of the season. It is such a blessing to be able to play so close to home. After a tough and heartbreaking showing last season, we are back and ready to show Boston who we really are. My family and friends will be in the stands to show their support for the Hofstra Pride and we will do everything we can to make this trip memorable for all. It will take our best efforts and working together as a team to compete with B.C. but we are definitely up for the challenge. We have come so far this preseason individually and have gelled together and we cannot wait to start what we hope will be one of our toughest yet successful seasons. I hope everyone will follow our journey throughout the season and support us as we fight for the CAA Championship!
But first let's take it to the Eagles! GO PRIDE!!
Dana Bergstrom - #11
