Girls Soccer: Freedom's Sam Scolarici to Sign with NCAA Division I Hofstra on Wednesday

South Riding (Jan. 31, 2011) - Freedom High School senior Sam Scolarici will sign Wednesday afternoon her National Letter of Intent to play NCAA Division 1 college soccer at Hofstra University on a full athletic scholarship.

Scolarici's signing will take place at 4:15 p.m. in the school's library.

The forward will join former Stone Bridge standout, Kristi Rodriguez, a redshirt freshman this year, on the Hofstra squad.

Scolarici plays for Freedom coach Sara Gustafson and helped the Eagles last year to school's best ever record with a 13-4-1 mark before being upset in the Dulles District semifinals. For club soccer, she plays with the Jac Cicala-coached McLean MPS Azul. Previously she played for the Loudoun Explosion.

Hofstra Women's Soccer Head Coach Simon Riddiough was named the 2010 National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA)/Mondo Mid-Atlantic Region Coach of the Year after leading Hofstra to a 19-3 record in the fall and an appearance in the second round of the NCAA Tournament.

The 19 wins set a new school record, as did the 18 straight wins that the Pride tallied from Aug. 27 to Nov. 7, which tied for the third-longest single-season streak in Hofstra history in any sport. Hofstra also went 11-0 in CAA play, making the Pride the first unbeaten and untied team in the CAA since William and Mary was 8-0 in 1998, and achieved its first national ranking in school history, earning a spot in the top 25 for the final six weeks of the regular season, peaking at No. 18 in the Nov. 2 poll.

Hofstra capped off its season by defeating Connecticut 1-0 in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament, the program's second NCAA win its history, along with a 1-0 win over Ohio State in 2007. The Pride finally fell to eventual semifinalist Boston College 3-1 in the second round, as the Eagles accounted for two of Hofstra's three losses on the year (including the season opener on Aug. 27).