No. 1 Monmouth is headed to the Coastal Athletic Association (CAA) Championship for the second season in a row, after defeating the Hofstra Pride 4-2 in the semifinal round on Nov. 3.
Forward Summer Reimet gave the Hawks an early lead about ten minutes into the game when she broke past two defenders and found the back of the net. The score sat at 1-0 until the one minute mark when again Reimet got another point on the board for Monmouth assisted by defenseman Grace Notarfrancesco. This gave Monmouth the advantage heading into the next half.
The final 45 minutes of play began with Monmouth’s third consecutive goal in the game shot by forward Loren Gehret who found the bottom right corner of the goal followed by the pass from midfielder Liza Suydam.
The remainder of the game was not only exciting, but tense as a change of play from the Pride shifted the game. Within two minutes of Gehret’s goal, two yellow cards were issued to Hofstra, one for dissent and one for unsporting. At the 66:39 mark, Hofstra put themselves on the board with a goal from Louise Hayden off a corner kick and just barely slipping through Monmouth goalie, Cassie Coster, making the score 3-1 for Monmouth. With only nine minutes left in the game, the Pride found the net again with a goal from Millie Davies sending the ball soaring above Coster.
Monmouth was not entirely secure in their win as Hofstra was one goal away from possible overtime until the 37 second mark when Suydam received the assist from forward Ashley Lavrich, giving the Hawks a two goal lead on Hofstra.
The 4-2 win secured a spot in the CAA championship game to be played at home against the Stony Brook Seawolves, ranked No. 2. This season, the Hawks and the Seawolves tied their only matchup. In game history, the Hawks have not lost and hold a record of 7-0 at home, and 4-0-1 on the road.
The game will be at 7:00PM on Hesse Field Saturday Nov. 9.
