By Lindsay Carlton
It was a bittersweet weekend for the Hofstra women’s lacrosse team. On Friday the team traveled to James Madison’s campus in Harrisonburg, Va., to compete against No. 15 William & Mary. By defeating the Tribe 12-9, the Pride took the first step toward advancing to the NCAA Tournament.
The Pride dominated the game against William & Mary and came out on fire, scoring the game’s first five goals. Hofstra played to its strengths and moved the ball around well, which allowed junior attacker Kimberly Hillier to score twice and senior midfielder Heather Albro, senior midfielder Jamie Rabuano and freshman midfielder Sandy Wasserbach to each tally one of their own.
“In the William & Mary game we had so many people impact the game,” Pride head coach Shelley Klaes-Bawcombe said. “We played excellent lacrosse. It was some of the best I’ve seen played at Hofstra. Everyone stepped up to the plate.”
The Tribe put up the best fight it could, cutting the deficit to 5-3 at the 9:59 mark in the first half. But Hofstra wasn’t letting guard down just yet. Albro proved to be a team leader in the game and came out with two more goals to give her team an 8-4 lead at halftime.
Hofstra was just as tough in the second half, as Rabuano and junior midfielder Casey McGrath struck the Tribe with back-to-back goals four minutes into the half. Finishing the Pride’s points for the day were game-high scorers Albro and Hillier. Albro scored a career-high four goals and added one assist for the game.
Although the Pride had high hopes for the NCAA’s, this year turned out to be an ultimate disappointment, as Hofstra lost to host and top-seeded James Madison, 14-8, on Sunday afternoon.
Hofstra came out playing hard and kept up with the Dukes, as both teams shot in the double digits and the score was tied at five at intermission.
Hofstra’s downfall came in the second stanza of the contest when the Dukes’ defense blasted the Pride away, allowing just seven shots on goal for the entire half.
“In the second half James Madison just really came out strong offensively and we just weren’t able to match their intensity and turn the ball around on offense,” Klaes-Bawcombe said.
JMU took control of the ball for most of the half, making a five-goal run just seven minutes in. The Dukes can thank star player Kelly Berger for keeping the lead, as she tallied six goals and one assist in the contest, five of which came in the second half.
Hillier was able to squeak in a goal assisted by McGrath at the 14:28 mark, but the Dukes quickly answered back with three consecutive goals before Hillier added one last goal before the contest ended.
With the loss, Hofstra missed out on the CAA’s automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. The Pride still had a chance for an at-large bid on Monday night when the selection show aired on CSTV, but the team didn’t make the cut for the second consecutive year.
Although the season did not end like the Pride would have liked, finishing the year on a high note were Kimberly Hillier, captain Jaime Irving and Casey McGrath, all of whom were named to the All-CAA first team. Also, freshman midfielder Lauren Whitcomb was also named the CAA Rookie of the Year.
The women’s lacrosse season may be over this year, but they will be back in action in 2007 as they take the turf to take another stab at a CAA championship.