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 soccer vs. UNC Wilmington in-game blog

Tune into "Inside the Pride" starting at 12:45 p.m. Sunday for a live blog of the 22nd-ranked Hofstra women's soccer team taking on UNC Wilmington. Hofstra enters Sunday afternoon's 1 p.m. game coming off a thrilling 3-2 overtime win over Georgia State Friday night to clinch the regular season Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) title. The Pride have won 15 in a row and will try and maintain its national ranking with a victory over the Seahawks, who enter Sunday's game at third place in the CAA standings. Check in with "Inside the Pride" for live updates of Hofstra's second-to-last regular season game of the 2010 season starting 15 minutes before kickoff Sunday. Comments and questions are also welcome and encouraged during the live in-game blog.

Hofstra women's soccer defensive midfielder adds some offensive punch to aide national ranking

 Courtesy Hofstra Athletic Communications
The 23rd ranked Hofstra women’s soccer has received many contributions during its current 13-game winning streak on both offense and defense. One Pride player aiding on both ends of the field during Hofstra’s magical run has been versatile red-shirt junior defensive midfielder Brittany Butts, who after two years of rock solid defensive play has added some offensive punch to her game

Butts scored her first career goal in a 3-1 win at Big Ten power Indiana on Sept. 12 and added her second tally in a 4-1 triumph over Towson on Oct. 8. “Everyone makes fun of me because I’m always the one to never score, never shoot so hopefully I’m turning that around,” said Butts. “It feels nice to finally get some goals in the back of the net.”

Hofstra women's soccer team reflects on record winning streak

The Hofstra women’s soccer team’s magical 2010 season hit new heights Friday night when the Pride broke a program record with its 11th straight victory over Towson. The streak, which hit 12 games after Sunday’s 5-0 win over George Mason, has special meaning to both head coach Simon Riddiough and his players, who are hoping the winning ways continues all the way to an NCAA Tournament berth.

“It’s a milestone,” said Coach Riddiough of the winning streak, which broke a Hofstra women’s soccer record previously set in 2005. “You always want to build tradition and the more records we break with winning streaks, the more likelihood we start to get recognized as a standout program.”

Hofstra women's soccer defender Amy Turner keys Pride winning streak

Courtesy Hofstra Athletic Communications

The Hofstra women’s soccer team is in the midst of a 10-game winning streak and a major reason for the Pride’s success has been the play of sophomore defender Amy Turner, who has anchored a back line that has recorded five shutouts in its last six games.

After playing every game at center back last season, Turner has stepped into more of a leadership role on defense in 2010 following the graduation of All-Colonial Athletic Association defender Diane Caldwell. “It is a big responsibility in that back four,” said Turner of being a key catalyst to the Pride’s successful defense this season. “We are really strong back there.”

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.”

Former Hofstra women's soccer star Diane Caldwell competing for W-League title while training for Pride field hockey season

 Courtesy Hofstra Athletics Communications

Former Hofstra women’s soccer star Diane Caldwell is keeping plenty busy this summer on the pitch and with a field hockey stick. As Caldwell gets set to play field hockey for Hofstra this fall while attending graduate school, the Balbriggan, Ireland native has continued to pursue soccer by playing for the Hudson County Quickstrike Lady Blues semi-professional club who will be in the USL W-League semifinals on July 29.

Caldwell, who played soccer for Hofstra from 2006 to 2009 and is now pursuing masters in physical education, has been spending her summer thus far housed with her Hudson County teammates at Mount Saint Mary College in Newburgh, N.Y. In the midst of taking part intense daily practices and workouts with her W-League squad, Caldwell has also found the time to practice her technical and tactical field hockey skills each day. When Hofstra field hockey head coach Kathy De Angelis agreed to let Caldwell play semi-professional soccer this summer with the Quickstrike it was understood that field hockey would not be far from her mind.

“When I was leaving she said to me ‘if I see you over summer you better have your stick on you at all times,” said Caldwell, who last played field hockey at Mount Temple Comprehensive School in Dublin. “Over spring I really did try and work on improving my game and that definitely helped me having that spring under my belt.”

“We were very clear to the fact that if we were giving her this opportunity that she put a real commitment to playing as much hockey while also playing soccer,” said De Angelis. “It is really about the perseverance to be a dual athlete at that level.”

Caldwell, who has competed for the Ireland national soccer team, describes her experience with the Quickstrike as the highest level of the sport she has ever played and is hoping it can someday lead to an opportunity to play professionally in the WPS. If the Quickstrike manage to make it to the W-League championship on July 31 in Santa Clarita, Calif. Caldwell will have a chance to play before a national television audience on Fox Soccer Channel. The dual athlete will then turn her attention solely to field hockey when the Hofstra sticklers begin pre-season practice on Aug. 11 in preparation for the season opener on Aug. 28 against Boston University.

Hofstra women's soccer to have challenging 2010 schedule

The Hofstra women's soccer team's 2010 schedule has been released and the Pride will be greatly challenged its non-conference slate.

Hofstra will kick off the 2010 campaign on August 27 at Boston College, which finished last season ranked seventh in the nation. The early non-conference schedule is also highlighted by road contests at Big Ten powers Purdue and Indiana and a home game on Sept. 5 against Fordham, who fell in the Atlantic 10 championship last season.

Long Island Lady Riders feature heavy Hofstra women's soccer contingent

The Hofstra women’s soccer team is getting a major lift in its preparation for the 2010 season thanks to four Pride players currently competing with the Long Island Rough Riders of the USL W-League.

The Hofstra players earning some valuable experience playing for the team that commonly uses the nickname Lady Riders include forwards Salma Tarik and Laura Greene as well as midfielders Tiffany Yovino and Danielle Murino. The Lady Riders, which competes in a league recognized as North America’s main women’s developmental organization, also feature numerous former Hofstra players including goalie Rebecca Wachsberger, defender Sue Weber as well as forwards Brooke DeRosa and Janine Cappello-Bielia.

Hofstra women's soccer star Diane Caldwell to play field hockey for Pride in 2010

Picture courtesy Hofstra Athletic Communications

On Nov. 6 when the Hofstra women’s soccer team’s 2009 season ended in heartbreaking fashion after a 2-1 overtime defeat to UNC-Wilmington it brought incredible heartache for senior defender Diane Caldwell, who suddenly saw her Pride career playing the sport she loved come to a close. The pain still lingers from that early November defeat on the turf of Northeastern’s Parsons Field but Caldwell’s Hofstra’s collegiate career is now being resurrected with a stick.

The Ireland native has earned a spot on Hofstra’s field hockey team and will play for head coach Kathy De Angelis in the 2010 season while she attends graduate school. Caldwell, who played field hockey for Mount Temple Comprehensive School in Balbriggan, Ireland, decided to workout with the Hofstra sticklers last spring and after impressing the coaches with her athletic play in the backfield has been added to the roster for the 2010 season.

“When my four years were up with soccer I was obviously a little disappointed because you don’t want it to end so soon but having [ a chance to play field hockey] gives me another year to enjoy and stay here at Hofstra,” said Caldwell, who played soccer for the Ireland National Team in 2008. “To go into a Division I program is not going to be easy by any means but it is a new challenge for me and I am just looking forward to it because it is these challenges that make life exciting.”

NCAA College cup berth on line for Hofstra women's soccer this weekend

Parsons Field in Brookline, Mass. was a house of horrors for the Hofstra women’s soccer team during this past Saturday’s 4-0 Halloween matinee defeat to Northeastern, but if the Pride want to reach the NCAA College Cup then two wins on this same turf will be needed this weekend.

Northeastern’s Halloween shutout of Hofstra (10-5-3, 7-2-2) clinched the number one seed for the Huskies and the right to host the Colonial Athletic Association playoffs this weekend. If the Pride had won or tied then the Hofstra University Soccer Stadium would have been the site of this weekend’s CAA playoffs, but instead head coach Simon Riddiough’s team will have to settle for being the second-seed and traveling four hours back to the Boston area. “We had everything in our control and we just let it get away from ourselves,” said Coach Riddiough. “It was just one of those days.”

Despite coming off a four-goal loss in its regular season finale, Coach Riddiough feels positive about his team heading into this weekend since Hofstra out-shot Northeastern 22-8 and was the victim of some unlucky breaks against a stiff first half wind. Hofstra returns to Northeastern’s Parsons Field this Friday afternoon to battle UNC-Wilmington in the CAA semi-finals at 3 p.m. with a victory catapulting the Pride into the CAA Championship Sunday with a chance to earn an automatic bid into the NCAA College Cup, an accomplishment the program achieved in 2005 and 2007.

Hofstra women’s soccer 0-0 tie with JMU delays clinching top CAA seed

The Hofstra women’s soccer team came into its Sunday afternoon game against James Madison with a few scenarios that could clinch the regular season Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) title but the most simple was just defeat the Dukes. However despite out-shooting JMU 20-7 the Pride had to settle for a 0-0 tie that keeps second place Northeastern alive for the top CAA top-seed and the right to host the conference tournament in two weeks.

The Pride (10-4-2, 7-1-2 in the CAA) closes the regular season at Northeastern on Halloween and will need a win or tie over the Huskies to assure that today’s Senior Day game will not be the last at Hofstra University Soccer Stadium in 2009.

“I thought we played well and I thought we played well enough to win against a very, very good James Madison team, who got to the Sweet 16 last year,” said Hofstra women’s soccer head coach Simon Riddiough moments after the game.

Today marked the second straight Sunday that Hofstra played to a 0-0 tie and in last week’s scoreless deadlock at Georgia State the Pride out-shot the Panthers 41-14.

If it were not for the play of goalie Krysten Farriella Hofstra may have been looking at a loss rather than a tie. The junior keeper literally saved the day for the Pride in the second overtime by stonewalling a point-blank header from Ashley Flateland off a free kick from Teresa Rynier. The Pride had its best chance to win the game in the second overtime when junior forward Salma Tarik put a header just wide of the net off a cross from sophomore Laura Greene.

Well-traveled Egypt native finds home with Hofstra women’s soccer

Picture courtesy Hofstra Athletic Communications

Hofstra women’s soccer junior forward Salma Tarik has moved around plenty in her life from Egypt to East Meadow, out west to California and back east to Bellmore. Hofstra head coach Simon Riddiough is sure happy she has decided to make Hofstra the home for her women’s soccer career as the transfer from Cal State Northbridge has been the Pride’s leading scorer since returning to Long Island.

Entering 2009 Coach Riddiough knew he had a solid defensive foundation but was concerned if there would be enough offense. The Cairo, Egypt native has certainly helped provide that with nine goals and four assists, which has has helped pace Hofstra (9-4-2, 6-1-1) into first place during the Colonial Athletic Association’s home stretch of the season with three games remaining.

After not starting right away her first season at Hofstra, Tarik took it upon herself to work extra hard in the summer playing with the Los Angeles Legends of the W-League. “If I didn’t play in that league or train on my own this year would be a lot different,” said Tarik, who ended up leading the Pride in scoring with six goals last year despite being on the bench to start the season.

When Tarik arrived at Hofstra last year she re-united with childhood friend and Pride forward Courtney Breen, who she competed against in youth soccer for the East Meadow Dynamite. The two former East Meadow youth players teamed up to both tally goals in Hofstra’s 2-1 win at Princeton on Sept. 4.

Caldwell brings Irish “Pride” to Hofstra

When senior defenseman Diane Caldwell first suited up for the Irish national team in early 2006 she got an early introduction to the Hofstra women’s soccer family that has formed in the Emerald Isle. While competing for her native country she played with Hofstra red-shirt senior Edel Malone and former Pride women’s soccer players Dolores Deasley, Elaine O’Connor, Kariena Richards and Casey O’Driscoll, who all played a huge influence on her decision to head to land on Long Island.

“They really encouraged me to come here,” said Caldwell of how the large make-up of Hofstra women’s soccer players competing for Ireland brought her to Hempstead. "[Playing at Hofstra] has met my expectations and more."

Caldwell has adapted well to her surroundings at Hofstra on and off the field and is hoping to extend her senior season as long as possible. The physical education major tallied Hofstra’s winning goal in a 1-0 triumph over George Mason last Friday night on a corner kick with 7:35 remaining in the game. Caldwell’s senior leadership has been a major factor in the Pride’s number three ranking in the National Soccer Coaches Association Mid-Atlantic Region following a 7-3-1 start and 4-0 in the Colonial Athletic Association heading into home games this weekend against Old Dominion and William & Mary.

One word that would sum up Caldwell’s many attributes is “versatility” as since first arriving at Hofstra in 2006 the Balbriggan, Ireland native has played forward, midfield and her final college soccer season on defense. Head coach Simon Riddiough opted to move Caldwell to defense in order to solidify a backline that graduated some key starters from a year ago.

“She just wants to play and wants to win,” said Riddiough. “She is very unselfish.”

Caldwell got a taste of NCAA tournament play during her sophomore year in 2007 when Hofstra defeated Ohio State before dropping an overtime heartbreaker to Penn State in the second round. With her desire to win and return to the NCAAs, she will perform whatever tasks are asked of her. “Because I am so versatile I’ll play wherever,” she said. “I’ll play in goal if I have to.”