Hofstra women lose to Rutgers in NCAA Tournament soccer
Leah Galton of Hofstra looks to move the ball during the second round of the NCAA women's soccer tournament at Rutgers University on Nov. 20, 2015. Credit: George McNish
If this had been a Hollywood ending, Leah Galton would have scored the winning goal for Hofstra in its NCAA Tournament second-round game against Rutgers Friday night.
Instead, it was a miracle that she got to play in what turned into her final college soccer game, a 2-0 loss at Yurcak Field.
On Monday, a badly torn right quadriceps muscle suffered in the first-round win over Georgetown had threatened to keep her out of the game.
"If I had one leg, I was going to be on the field somehow," she said.
She had two legs, but she lacked the explosiveness that made her a dangerous player.
"It's one of the games I want to be at 125 percent and not at 80 percent," she said. "So it was from the start, I wasn't going to go exactly how I wanted to go, but I still wanted to give everything I did."
She wished she had converted a penalty kick at 51:02 after Erica Skorski fouled her in the box. Goalkeeper Casey Murphy dived to her right to save her penalty, which Galton called "heart-breaking."
Galton completed a marvelous career at Hofstra (13-6-2), leaving after a 12-goal, six-assist season. She scored 48 career goals (ranking second) and had 26 assists (tied for first). She was a three-time Colonial Athletic Association player of the year.
"She's carried us," coach Simon Riddiough said. "She has been a program-changer. She's been unbelievable for us. She's a special player. We're never going to get one like that. But as a person, she's just second to none."
The Scarlet Knights (18-3-2) will meet Connecticut, a 2-0 winner over Notre Dame, at 1 p.m. Sunday.
Hofstra dug itself a two-goal hole in the opening 20 minutes. Defender Emily Agudelo tried to block Erin Smith's cross but knocked it into her own goal at 11:11. Brianne Reed headed in Samantha Valliant's corner kick past goalkeeper Friederike Mehring at the far left post at 19:33.
"We froze a little bit the first 20, 25 minutes," Riddiough said. "We made some decisions which we traditionally don't make and it cost us two goals."
Galton may be gone from the Hofstra program, but she hopes to continue to score goals in the National Women's Soccer League next year.
"I don't want to stop playing soccer for a long time," she said. "I want to keep going as long as my body could take me."
