Sports

Bellmorite leads Hofstra’s break into Top 25 nationally

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The Hofstra women’s soccer team (12-1, 6-0 Colonial Athletic Association) earned its first-ever appearance in the national Top 25, coming in at No. 23 in the latest National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA)/Hendrickcars.com poll, it was announced last week.

The Pride has achieved its ranking through scoring balance, with 11 different goal scorers, led by senior Salma Tarik, a native of Bellmore and former East Meadow Soccer Club player, who has eight.

Hofstra earned the top 25 ranking after adding to its school-record winning streak with a pair of victories last weekend. The Pride defeated Towson 4-1 on Friday and then shut out George Mason, the second place team in the CAA, 5-0 on Sunday. Hofstra had been ranked first in the NSCAA Mid-Atlantic Region for the last four weeks, but finally squeaked in to the national 25 after being ranked 28th two weeks ago and 27th last week.

The wins over Towson and George Mason improved Hofstra’s record to 12-1 on the year, including 12 straight wins since a season-opening road loss to current No. 11 Boston College. The old school record for longest winning streak was 10 games, set in 2005, while the old record for longest unbeaten streak was 11 games (10-0-1) in 2000. The Pride is also 6-0 in the CAA, giving it a lead of 1.5 games over second-place Georgia State with five regular season games left.

Hofstra has not trailed since the first half of a 3-1 win over Rhode Island on Sept. 3, a span of 1,050 minutes without a deficit. The last five goals it has conceded in that span have all come while the squad held multi-goal leads in the second half, including four with the score 3-0 (Fordham, Purdue, Indiana, Towson).

Hofstra has consistently dominated possession, outshooting its opponents 197-71 during its 12-game winning streak (roughly 16-6 per game), including 99-29 in shots on net. The Pride’s two goalkeepers, senior Krista Thorn and Emily Morphitis, have combined for only 24 saves all year, less than two per game, as a defense led by senior Dana Bergstrom and sophomore Amy Turner has consistently shut down opposing strikers. Last weekend, neither Hofstra goalkeeper had a single save, as the only shot on net for either opponent was a penalty kick goal from Towson in the second half. 

Comments about this story? SBrinton@liherald.com or (516) 569-4000 ext. 203.