Hofstra women's soccer Big Ten Sweep could play major dividends come November

Fresh off a Big Ten road sweep of Purdue and Indiana this past weekend, Hofstra women’s soccer head coach Simon Riddiough is hopeful that these two signature wins will play major dividends toward the Pride’s goals of reaching the NCAA Tournament.

Hofstra earned a pair of 3-1 wins over the Big Ten powers Friday and Saturday night, which will give the Pride a major boost in the Ratings Percentage Index (RPI) rankings, an important factor used to determine who received at-large bids to the NCAA Tournament in November. Riddiough expects both Indiana and Purdue to be in the top 50 RPI this season and feels wins over both of these teams will go a long way toward boosting Hofstra’s NCAA Tournament at-large resume should the Pride not capture the Colonial Athletic Association’s (CAA) automatic bid.

Riddiough described this past weekend as the biggest regular season moment for the Hofstra women’s soccer program, which started in 1992. “From a national perspective, from a tradition perspective, from a reputation perspective I think it is the best weekend we have ever had,” said Riddiough. “The girls put everything into it emotionally and physically."

While jubilant on the plane ride back to New York over what the Pride had accomplished, many of the players were also exhausted both physically and mentally, according to Riddiough. He gave them Monday off and work will now begin on preparation for Hofstra’s next game at Columbia this Friday night. Riddiough does not expect there to be a letdown

“Fortunately this is a local rivalry,” said Riddiough. “Hopefully that is enough to get us motivated.”