The Hofstra University women’s lacrosse team showed no mercy in an 18-1 victory over Wagner College on Saturday, March 7. Shannon Steck continued her hot run with her third hat trick in her last four games.
Steck was not alone in recording a hat trick, as attackers Meaghan Tufano and Nikki Mennella each recorded one as well. Natalie DeMeo, Kate Lemery, Julia Harris and Madeleine Rudolph also got on the board for the Pride.
“It was really nice to see a lot of different goal scorers and players gaining confidence,” said Hofstra head coach Shannon Smith. “[It was] a great way to end our nonconference before we get into conference play.”
Mennella scored Hofstra’s opening goal of the game just over four minutes in, thanks to a Jordyn Poll free position attempt. Poll elected to pass the ball instead of using the shooting lane, allowing Mennella to capitalize on the unsuspecting defense.
The Pride scored five more goals in the first quarter, with the next four all coming in similar fashion. Hofstra moved the ball from outside the 8-meter arc to the front of the net for an easy shot past the Wagner goalie.
With 43 seconds remaining in the first quarter, Harris cashed in on a player-up opportunity for the Pride to extend the lead to six. Harris rolled around the crease on a pass from DeMeo and finished her shot for the wraparound goal.
The second quarter followed a similar story to the first for Hofstra. The Pride registered eight shots on goal while finding the back of the net for another six goals.
Hofstra began the second quarter on fire with Lemery opening the scoring just 13 seconds in. Steck took no time following Lemery up, as she potted one just 38 seconds later. As the second frame progressed, Mennella completed her hat trick and grabbed her fourth, while Steck and Tufano also added a tally of their own.
Although the Pride dominated the second quarter, Wagner was able to score a goal in the waning moments of the half to make it 12-1. Amelia Logan’s goal came on Wagner’s second shot of the game.
Smith elected to pull goalie Luchianna Cardello at the end of the first half in favor of their backups to get Avery Lanzarotta and Saoirse Feerick each a quarter of action. Lanzarotta and Feerick did their jobs successfully, as they both recorded a save and zero goals against.
“[Cardello’s] our starting goalkeeper and she had been having a really tremendous season, and [Lanzarotta] and [Feerick] have been working just as hard,” Smith said. “We were put in a position where we could get them minutes, and I think they deserve their minutes based off of their hard work they’ve put in.”
Hofstra slowed down their offense in the second half, only recording seven shots on goal compared to the first half’s 17.
Steck’s third quarter goal was Hofstra’s only tally in the stanza. In the fourth quarter, however, Hofstra found their footing once again, scoring five goals. Steck and Tufano each added another two while DeMeo buried one.
The 18-1 final is the Pride’s largest margin of victory so far this season and puts Hofstra at a 4-4 record heading into Coastal Athletic Association (CAA) play. The Pride open CAA action with a date at home against Elon University on Saturday, March 14.
“It’s going to be a playoff game. This game’s going to have a lot of impact on where teams fall, there’s tiebreakers for the playoffs,” Smith said about the upcoming game against Elon. “We have to be ready to go, it’s not going to be given to us.”
