Crimson Falls to Hofstra in High-Scoring Affair

In a half that saw eight goals scored, the Harvard women’s soccer team (3-3) could not find the equalizer against a resilient Hofstra side (4-2), dropping the Friday afternoon game, 5-4.

“It was a really strange game,” freshman midfielder Mai Le said. “In soccer, scores usually don’t go up that high, and when they do, there’s something breaking down for both teams. It was really unusual the way the play switched back and forth so fast.”

After finishing the first half with the 1-0 lead at Soldiers Field Soccer/Lacrosse Stadium, the Crimson defense broke down early in the second period when it allowed the Pride’s Laura Greene to head the ball into the goal off a corner kick.

Eight minutes later, co-captain Melanie Baskind dribbled into the penalty box and from the left passed the ball to junior Alexandra Conigliaro, who kicked the ball close to the right post and into the back of the net.

The home team held the lead for a mere 13 seconds before Greene barged her way past two defenders and sent a strong shot to junior goalkeeper AJ Millet, who failed to hold onto the ball. Greene quickly put away the rebound, scoring her second goal of the game.

Hofstra scored three more times in the span of 15 minutes to make the score 5-2. Rookie Erika Garcia’s strong header with 75:47 played marked Harvard’s third goal, assisted by rookie Le.

It was only near the end of the game that the Crimson got within striking distance. With a little over a minute left to play, freshman Meg Casscells-Hamby dribbled the balls two yards into the box before sending a curving shot from the right past Pride goalie Kylie Shuster. The goal came too late, as the clock quickly wound down to give Hofstra the win—and the Crimson its second loss in a row.

Harvard is back in action on Sunday afternoon at Rhode Island.

Check back with TheCrimson.com for more updates.