Hofstra University Athletics

HOFSTRA OPENS POSTSEASON PLAY FRIDAY AGAINST UNC WILMINGTON

11/3/2009 1:00:00 PM

Hempstead, NY - The second-seeded Hofstra Women's Soccer team will face third-seeded UNC Wilmington in one of two Colonial Athletic Association semifinal games on Friday afternoon at 3 p.m. at Northeastern University in Boston, Mass.

Top-seeded Northeastern will meet fourth-seeded James Madison in the second semifinal at 5:30 p.m. The two winners will then play for the CAA championship and an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament on Sunday at 1 p.m.

Hofstra enters the postseason with a 10-5-3 overall record, including 7-2-2 in conference games. The Pride was in first place throughout the regular season until the last day, when it fell on the road to Northeastern on Saturday and dropped into second. Northeastern also defeated Hofstra 1-0 in double overtime in the CAA title game last year, when Hofstra was the fifth seed and Northeastern was the sixth seed.

UNC Wilmington (11-7-1, 7-3-1 CAA) and Hofstra will be meeting in the CAA Tournament for the first time. In the regular season meeting back on Oct. 16 in Wilmington, the Seahawks took a 1-0 lead into halftime on an early goal from Stephanie Rose, but the Pride responded with two goals 1:04 apart midway through the second half to take the 2-1 win. Junior forward Salma Tarik (Bellmore, NY) tied the score, and 1:04 later, Greene headed in the rebound after Tarik's initial shot hit the crossbar.

Tarik has been the Pride's offensive leader all season, tallying 10 goals and four assists for 24 points. She became the ninth player in school history to record 10 goals in a season when she scored in a 3-0 win over VCU on Oct. 23. Greene, meanwhile, leads the Pride with eight assists, tying her for the fifth-highest single-season total in school history.

Hofstra has reached the CAA title game in each of the last three tournaments in which it has participated. The Pride won CAA titles in both 2005 and 2007, and reached the championship game against Northeastern last year before falling in double overtime (Hofstra did not qualify in 2006).

The Pride hopes that it will find its scoring touch in the postseason after several frustrating shutouts in the last two weeks. Hofstra tied Georgia State 0-0 on Oct. 18 despite outshooting the Panthers 41-14, tied James Madison 0-0 on Oct. 25 despite a 20-7 edge in shots, then lost to Northeastern 4-0 on Oct. 31 despite a 22-8 advantage in shots. The three goalkeepers combined to make 37 saves in those three games (16 by Georgia State's Heidi Blankenship, 10 by JMU's Diane Wszalek and 11 by Northeastern's Stephanie Gordon). The Pride has not had 10 saves in a game since 2006, when current redshirt junior Krysten Farriella (Lake Ronkonkoma, NY) stopped 11 in a loss at James Madison.

Live stats for the entire tournament can be found on Northeastern's website at www.gonu.com, while single game video can also be purchased through Northeastern for $8.95 per game.

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