Lou Ruggirello draws inspirtation from previous Hofstra wrestling great

Courtesy Hofstra Athletic Communications
When Hofstra wrestling red-shirt senior Lou Ruggirello looks up into the Mack Sports Complex rafters and sees the retired jersey of Nick Gallo he gets an extra reminder of his chief goal for his final season on the Pride mats. Gallo was Hofstra wrestling’s last and only national champion in 1977 and Ruggierello would like nothing better than to match that feat this coming March. 

“Every time I think about it makes me want to push that much harder to get it done and join his company,” said Ruggierello, who has gotten to know Gallo in recent years and often terms to the former collegiate national champion for advice.

Former Hofstra softball player makes pitch to be Phillies Ballgirl

Courtesy philadelphia.phillies.mlb.com 

A former Hofstra softball player is making a pitch to be a Philadelphia Phillies Ballgirl in 2011.

Genevieve Haney, who played softball at Hofstra from 2005-2008, is one of five finalists for the final Phillies Ballgirl spot open for the 2011 season, and the Major League Baseball team has decided to let fans decide who will earn this coveted job. Hofstra fans can cast their vote for Haney and view a video of the former Pride softball player making her case for the job on the Phillies website. Polls close on Nov. 30 at 5 p.m.

Haney, a native of Levittown, Pa., was a utility infielder for Hofstra and was apart of Pride teams that captured four straight Colonial Athletic Association titles and won six NCAA Tournament games.

Hofstra baseball excited for Spring season to bloom

With the first pitch of the 2011 Hofstra baseball season about three months away third year head coach Patrick Anderson is excited about the state of his team with a solid nucleus of talented younger players and older veterans determined to bring the program to a new level.

Hofstra finished its fall season late last month and in two days of competition against Nassau Community College and Suffolk Community College scored over 40 runs. “It has been such a good positive experience in the fall,” said Anderson, whose team stayed right in contention for a Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) playoff bid until the very end of the 2010 season. “The experience from last spring is just going to bring that confidence going into this spring as well.”

Hofstra soccer teams have magical runs in 2010

 Courtesy Hofstra Athletic Communications

Midfielder Tiffany Yovino was a major reason for Hofstra's magical 2010 season.

The Hofstra women’s and men’s soccer teams saw their seasons draw to a close this past weekend but both teams will be able to look back on 2010 with their heads held high knowing great strides were made with bright futures lying ahead.

The Hofstra women’s soccer team broke a school-record with 18 wins in a row and advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament before losing a hard-fought battle to 18th-ranked Boston College 3-1. The Hofstra men’s soccer team rallied from being in 11th place in the conference standings at midseason to go unbeaten in seven straight games before falling to William & Mary 4-0 in the Colonial Athletic Association title game.

“I was proud of this team from the beginning all the way through to the end,” said Hofstra women’s soccer head coach Simon Riddiough, whose team finished the year ranked 23rd nationally. “The team came together fantastically."

Hofstra women's basketball vs. Saint Peter's in-game blog

The Hofstra women's basketball team will look to rebound from its hard fought season-opening loss last Friday to Virginia when it takes in Saint Peter's College at the Mack Sports Complex on Monday evening.

Hofstra hung tough with Virginia and was tied with the Atlantic Coast Conference power at 47-47 with 11 minutes remaining before the Cavaliers pulled away for an 82-66 win. Saint Peter's is also coming off a season-opening loss falling at Sacred Heart 65-48 on Friday. Hofstra and Saint Peter's last met on Dec. 30, 2008 in Jersey City, N.J. with the Pride coming away with a 64-57 overtime win.

Check in with "Inside the Pride" for live updates of Hofstra's attempt for its first win of the 2010-11 season starting 15 minutes before tip-off Monday at 6:45 p.m. Comments and questions are also welcome and encouraged during the live in-game blog.

Freshman defender leads Hofstra men's soccer's surge into CAA Tourney

 Courtesy Hofstra Athletic Communications
The Hofstra men’s soccer team has achieved quite the turnaround in 2010 from being in 11th place midway through the season to going unbeaten in its last six games to quality for the Colonial Athletic Association Tournament. In that final six game stretch where Hofstra went 4-0-2 the Pride only gave up one goal and the Pride’s staunch defensive play has been keyed in large part by freshman Shaun Foster, who has quickly become a leader on and off the field in his year of collegiate soccer.

Foster was recognized for his solid backline play by earning both the CAA Defensive Player of the Year and the Rookie of the Year honors, becoming the fort freshman to accomplish either feat. The England native is the first player in CAA Men's Soccer history to win two major awards in the same season.

Hofstra women's basketball vs. Virginia in-game blog

The Hofstra women’s basketball team is opening its 2010-11 season in grand style Friday night with a home game against Atlantic Coast Conference power Virginia.

Hofstra enters the new season with high expectations thank to returning eight starters from last year’s 20-14 team that advanced to the second round of the Women's National Invitation Tournament. Virginia finished last year 21-10 and advanced to the NCAA Tournament. The Cavaliers will be the first ACC team to visit the Mack Sports Complex since Georgia Tech narrowly defeated Hofstra 77-74 during the 2000-01 season.

Check in with "Inside the Pride" for live updates of Hofstra's quest to start off the 2010-11 season with a signature win starting 15 minutes before tip-off Friday night at 6:45 p.m.  Comments and questions are also welcome and encouraged during the live in-game blog.

Hofstra women's soccer vs. JMU in-game blog

The 18th-ranked Hofstra women's soccer team will try and make it 19 wins in a row against James Madison University (JMU) in the Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) title game Sunday afternoon and at the same time clinch an automatic bid to the College Cup. 

The Pride (18-1) reached the conference title game with a convincing 3-0 win over Georgia State in the CAA semifinals Friday night. A win over the Dukes could put Hofstra in strong position to be a host site for the first and second rounds of the College Cup next weekend. Hofstra last faced JMU in the CAA opener on Sept. 24 with the Pride winning 1-0 on a direct kick goal by defender Amy Turner. 

Check in with "Inside the Pride" for live updates of Hofstra's quest to clinch its first NCAA Tournament appearance since 2007 starting 15 minutes before kickoff Sunday afternoon. Comments and questions are also welcome and encouraged during the live in-game blog.

Hofstra women's soccer vs. Georgia State in-game blog

The 18th-ranked Hofstra women's soccer team enters Friday night's Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) Tournament semifinal game at home against Georgia State winners of a national-best 17 in a row and are two wins away from punching an automatic bid to the College Cup.

The Pride (17-1) are ranked 13th in the latest ratings percentage index released by the NCAA and should be in prime position for an at-large College Cup bid should it fail to capture the CAA's automatic bid this weekend. However head coach Simon Riddiough would love nothing better than to take the decision on of the NCAA Selection Committee's hands by winning the CAA Tournament this weekend, something the Pride last accomplished in 2007. This is the first time Hofstra has hosted the CAA Tournament since 2003 when the Pride fell in 1-0 in the semifinals to William & Mary.

Check in with "Inside the Pride" for live updates of Hofstra's quest to extend its winning streak to 18 games starting 15 minutes before kickoff Friday night. Comments and questions are also welcome and encouraged during the live in-game blog.

Hofstra women's lacrosse holds fundraiser for program featuring numerous youth teams

The Hofstra women’s lacrosse team hosted its second of two 2010 fall festivals this past Halloween weekend featuring numerous youth girls lacrosse teams from the New York City region who picked up their sticks to raise money for the Pride program.

For the last decade the Hofstra women’s lacrosse program has been holding fall festivals as fundraisers featuring seven-on-seven games of players from both youth and high schools teams from throughout the metropolitan area. The participation fees paid by each player for the festivals, which this year were held on the weekends of Sept. 18 and 19 and Oct. 30 and 31, goes to benefit the Hofstra women’s lacrosse program. Hofstra women’s lacrosse head coach Abby Morgan said for each weekend festival there are about 600 players who participate.

“It is really great because everyone just has a great time,” said Hofstra women’s lacrosse head coach Abby Morgan. “It is always a great event.”

Pride women’s lacrosse players took part in officiating the many games that were held on Hofstra's north campus intramural fields. Hofstra players also held a clinics as part of the festivities.

Morgan said in addition to raising money for her program the fall festivals are also a great chance to expose Hofstra to some of the area’s top players, which can prove to be advantageous when it comes to recruiting. Each player who participated in the fall festivals received a Hofstra women’s lacrosse t-shirt.

“It is great to have the local high schools on campus and the club teams and they all get to see what Hofstra is all about,” said Morgan. “It is good exposure for us as a school.”