Thursday, October 1, 2026
Hofstra University’s women’s soccer team encountered plenty of gridlock during last year’s 6-5-7 season that featured seven straight ties and is seeking a breakthrough fall that yields a deep postseason run.
The Pride’s historic draw streak lasted a month from Aug. 28 to Sept. 28 as part of a frustrating campaign in which Hofstra finished 3-3-3 in the Coastal Athletic Association (CAA) and qualified for the conference tournament with a 3-2 win at Stony Brook in the regular-season finale. The Seawolves ended Hofstra’s season four days later with a 2-1 overtime win in the CAA North Division quarterfinals created plenty of hunger for the Pride’s 14 returning players.
“They were disappointed in the way it ended,” said 21st-year Hofstra head coach Simon Riddiough. “They have all worked very hard and had good energy in the preseason but we are very young with a lot of new players.”
Hofstra will look for more wins with a largely new roster that includes 13 newcomers. The Pride lost nearly 80 percent of last year’s scoring.
The top returning scorers are junior forward Hailey Moschitta and senior defender Alexia Des Croisselles, who each tallied two goals apiece.
Riddiough said he hopes for a collective scoring effort this fall with a number of potential goal scorers in Maggie Peterson, Kendyl Peterson and Jadyn Hsu at the forward position along with freshman midfielder Mia Claro, an All-State player from Kellenberg.
Veteran fifth-year midfielder Amy Meadows also could be a key offensive force and she tallied Hofstra’s lone goal in a season-opening 3-1 loss at St. Joseph’s on Aug. 15. Senior midfielder Alexia Bromfield, who came off bench to score a late tying goal in Hofstra’s 1-1 draw with Columbia on Aug. 21, adds to Hofstra’s offensive depth.
“We’re going to be relying on a collective team effort,” Riddiough said. “Set pieces are going to be especially important.”
The backline is anchored by senior defender Sasha McTiffin, a preseason All-CAA honorable mention selection. The defense also returns Des Croisselles, junior Emma Johnson and sophomore Jessica Martin.
Senior Jill Conlon, a former two-time All-County player at Calhoun High School in North Merrick, adds depth to the defensive roster after missing last season with an injury. Freshman Ryann Zydor, who earned All-State honors at Oceanside High School, is another local product who could see playing time on the backline.
The defense will be aided by the return of junior goalkeeper Lilly Bailey, a Perth, Australia native, who posted four shutouts and 52 saves last season.
“She's very good with her feet and is very athletic,” Riddiough said of Bailey. “She needs to become a bit more commanding with her communication, but outside of that I'm pretty content with how she is as a goalkeeper.”
Hofstra will next host Fordham Aug. 27 at 7 p.m. and then return home on Sept. 13 to face Ivy League power Brown for a Sunday matinee starting at 1 p.m. The Pride kickoff CAA play on Sept. 20 against Towson at 1 p.m.
The Pride were picked to finish third in the CAA’s six-team North Division behind Stony Brook and Monmouth and ahead of Towson, Northeastern and Drexel. A top three standings finish would qualify Hofstra for a 10th straight CAA playoffs and 19th time in 21 years since Riddiough took command of the program with a chance to earn an automatic qualifier into the NCAA Tournament.
“There's going to be a lot of parity and hopefully by the time conference play starts we've got ourselves sorted and we can challenge people and get ourselves into the playoffs again,” Riddiough said. “We're a young team and we're going to learn and take our lumps early and hopefully by conference season we'll be ready to get some results.”
