Hofstra women keep rolling, clinch CAA title

The Hofstra women's soccer team continued its assault on the record books as it extended its school-record winning streak to 16 games and clinched the CAA regular season title after a 2-0 win over UNC-Wilmington on Sunday.

Chief catalyst for the 21st-ranked Pride (16-1 over all and 10-0 in the conference) has been Cal State Northridge transfer Salma Tarik.

The senior forward, who spent a portion of her youth in East Meadow before moving to California with her family, came back to Long Island after her mother fell ill.

"I didn't really know much about Hofstra, to be honest," Tarik said. "But I knew they won the CAA in 2007, so I was expecting this to be a good squad."

Hofstra has made the NCAA tournament twice since becoming a Division I program in 1993.

Hofstra will host the CAA Tournament beginning Nov. 5.

Tarik hasn't done it alone as Sachem East graduates Tiffany Yovino and Lauren Greene and Courtney Breen (Hicksville) have helped take the Pride to new heights.

Yovino has scored a goal in each of the last seven games, while Greene and Breen are third and fourth in scoring.

"The senior leadership and team chemistry has been fantastic," said Hofstra coach Simon Riddiough. "I'd like to take credit. But I just throw the ball out."

Breen agreed.

"It's hard not to look into the future, but we take each practice one at a time," Breen said. "Because we're the target now and we have to continue to play the way we're playing."