Events
The Year in Athletics 2007
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The women’s lacrosse team also brought a CAA championship home to Hofstra, the first conference title for the program since 2001 as a member of the America East Conference. The conference win gave the Pride a berth in its second NCAA Championship, and the team was selected to serve as a host site for its first-round game against seventh overall seed Johns Hopkins. The Pride played the Blue Jays close until Hopkins closed out the game with a 4-0 run to post a 12-8 victory and end Hofstra’s season with a record of 12-7. The Pride placed five players on the All-CAA team, including senior Kimberly Hillier, who finished her career as the second all-time leading scorer in program history with 215 points. Hillier was also named to the All-America third team, marking the second All-America selection of her career. She followed her All-America selection by being chosen to play for the U.S. Developmental Women’s Lacrosse team.
The men’s lacrosse team, under the direction of first-year Head Coach Seth Tierney, began the 2008 season under difficult circumstances following the off-season passing of teammate Nick Colleluori, who waged a courageous battle against non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma for more than a year. The team dedicated its season to Nick and, in a rebuilding year, posted a 6-8 record and qualified for the CAA Championship as the fourth seed. The team boasted seven all-conference players, including three all-rookie team selections. Junior Kevin Unterstein was named an honorable mention All-American. In December 2007 Pride freshman Jay Card was named to the Canadian Under-19 National Team that will compete at the 2008 World Lacrosse Championships.
Throughout the season and beyond, team members raised financial support and awareness for blood cancer research through the HEADstrong Foundation, which was founded by Nick Colleluori. Their fund-raising efforts led to the inaugural HEADstrong Foundation Nick Colleluori Memorial Classic at Ridley High School in Folsom, Pennsylvania, on October 7, a sixteam tournament that generated approximately $75,000 for the foundation.
The baseball team won 20 games for the third consecutive season and saw freshman Matt Prokopowicz earn Freshman All-America and CAA Rookie of the Year accolades following a season in which he compiled a .416 average with 11 home runs and 52 RBIs. He also set a school record for hits in a season with 82, breaking the old mark of 77 by Josh Stewart in 2005. The summer of 2007 saw Hofstra Athletics complete two capital construction projects – the replacement of the artificial turf in Shuart Stadium with FieldTurf and the construction of the Hofstra University Field Hockey Stadium on the North Campus.
The fall campaign saw the women’s soccer program post the finest season in its 16-year history, compiling an 18-4 record, the CAA Championship and a first-round win in the NCAA Championship over Ohio State. Senior defender Sue Weber won her third CAA Defensive Player of the Year Award and was also a first team Academic All-American. Five Hofstra players, including Weber and leading scorers Brooke DeRosa and Edel Malone, were named to the all-conference team as the Pride tied for league-high honors with three first team selections. Head Coach Simon Riddiough earned National Soccer Coaches Association of America Northeast Region Coach of the Year honors.
The Pride football team returned to national prominence this past fall, posting a 7-4 record. The team was ranked in the NCAA FCS Top 25 for 10 of the 11 weeks during the regular season. Senior Charles Sullivan became Hofstra’s all-time leader in receptions (238) and receiving yards (2,869), and also set a single-season record with 86 catches for 991 yards in 2007. Sullivan, along with classmate Gian Villante and freshman Anthony Nelson, was named to the All-CAA first team as the Pride had eight players in total named All-CAA. In addition, junior Nick Altomare was selected to the Academic All-District team.
The volleyball team advanced to the finals of the CAA Championship and posted a 19-12 record on the season. Senior setter Shellane Ogoshi closed out her career as the program’s all-time leader in assists (4,597) and digs (1,660) and was a first team All-CAA selection, one of three Pride players to be named all-conference.
The men’s soccer team saw its string of three consecutive CAA championships come to an end, falling short of qualifying for the conference tournament, and finished 2007 with a 7-9-2 overall record. The team produced four all-conference second team selections led by freshman Johannes Grahn, who scored a league-best 10 goals in his rookie campaign.
The field hockey team finished the 2007 campaign with a record of 7-11 and saw junior midfielder Charlia Warner earn National Field Hockey Coaches Association All-Region accolades. Warner was one of three Pride players to receive All-CAA honors, as she was named to the second team.
The men’s tennis program, which reached the quarterfinals of the CAA Championship in the spring, received an influx of talented newcomers that paid immediate dividends this past fall, as freshman Alex Hosner won individual championships at the Northeast Collegiate and the Scott Satran Memorial Tournaments. The women’s tennis team, which won just three matches in 2006-07, posted four victories in fall 2007. In addition, junior newcomer Zoe Taylor and freshman Christie Gattelaro were the champions at their respective singles flights at the Hofstra Invitational.
The men’s cross country team finished the 2007 season with a sixth-place showing at the 25-team IC4A Championship. The team also had a program-best fifth-place finish at the CAA Championship, placed first at the Hofstra Invitational and second at the 41-team Disney Classic. The women’s cross country team had a 17th-place showing at the ECAC Championship, placed second at the Hofstra Invitational and was ninth at the 44-team Disney Classic.
The women’s golf team posted three consecutive second place finishes to end the fall campaign. The team received a third-place finish from Morgan Heyrman to earn second-place at the Hofstra Invitational. Amy Hoffman was third overall as the Pride finished as the runner-up at the Mt. St. Mary’s Invitational, and in the fall finale Hoffman tied for second overall in leading the Pride to a second-place finish at the FDU Knights Invitational. The men’s golf team also finished the fall season strong with a pair of thirdplace finishes. The team placed third at the Mt. St. Mary’s Invitational, as Sean Davy finished tied for first. The Pride then was third at the FDU Knights Invitational, led by Jon Edwards’ eighth-place finish.
In other Hofstra Athletic news of the past calendar year, the University inducted its second class into the Hofstra University Athletics Hall of Fame. Two men’s soccer players – Gary Flood and Michael Todd – were selected in the Major League Soccer Draft, and Flood went on to play for league runner-up New England Revolution, while Todd is playing for Baltimore in the Major Indoor Soccer League. Shaine Smith, a 2007 graduate and member of the 2006 football team, also joined the professional ranks and signed a contract with the New York Jets. Hofstra Director of Athletics Jack Hayes was recently honored with the General Robert R. Neyland Outstanding Athletic Director Award at the All-American Football Foundation’s 88th Banquet of Champions on December 6.
