Once again, Nikki Mennella played heroically in the Hofstra University women’s lacrosse team’s game against Drexel University 14-13 on Saturday, April 4. In a thrilling matchup, Mennella scored six goals, including the game-winner which maintained the Pride’s undefeated Coastal Athletic Association (CAA) record.
Mennella’s six-goal performance cemented herself at third place all-time in goal scoring for the Pride with 160 career goals. Meanwhile, Charli Joyce recorded her first collegiate hat trick and Kayleigh Bender recorded her fifth hat trick of the year.
“[Joyce is] continuing to get better and really starting to perform in the games the way she does at practice,” said Hofstra head coach Shannon Smith.
Hofstra enjoyed early free position shots as Bender opened the scoring under two minutes into the game on a free position opportunity. Bender’s shot bounced through Drexel goalkeeper Lucy Dailey’s legs for the 1-0 lead.
The Pride quickly received another free position shot in which Shannon Steck scored. However, the referee found that Steck was using an illegal stick in their routine stick check, taking the goal off of the board.
Drexel turned Hofstra’s unfortunate fate back around on them as Ellie Wall scored from a free position shot for the Dragons. However, Bender stayed hot early, putting two defenders in a blender for her second goal of the game. Bender did not stop there as she provided Mennella with a beautiful pass for the Pride’s third goal of the game, putting Hofstra ahead 3-1.
The Dragons responded to the Pride’s push with two unanswered goals of their own, courtesy of Kate Quinn and Hailey Kluepfel. Hofstra scored one last goal before the first quarter expired as Joyce dropped the ball off for Natalie DeMeo who fired the ball past Dailey for the 4-3 lead.
The second quarter began with each team trading highlights as Mennella and Wall each scored a goal for their respective teams. Soon after, Luchianna Cardello and Dailey showed off their goaltending talents with back-to-back saves on free position attempts.
Midway through the second quarter, Mennella was shoved to the ground in a play where the ball went out of bounds. Mennella got right back up and responded by completing her hat trick off a fake spin move for the 6-4 lead.
“I kind of used [the physicality] instead of getting in my head – getting me out of my game,” Mennella said. “I used that as fire underneath my butt to play better.”
As time dwindled down in the first half, both teams went back and forth scoring goals. Quinn scored twice for Drexel, while Kristen Redding scored from a free position attempt, and Mennella scored a momentum booster for Hofstra, putting the Pride ahead 8-6 at half.
Joyce and the Pride began the second half with a roaring start as they moved the ball quickly around the offensive third to create opportunities. The quick ball movement confused the Dragons’ defense as Joyce was left all alone in front of the net for an easy first goal. Joyce scored once again just one minute later to improve Hofstra’s lead to four.
Drexel responded with a goal of their own amid the Pride’s push, but Joyce continued to have her way, scoring two goals to complete her hat trick within the first five minutes of the half to further Hofstra’s lead, 11-7.
Three and a half minutes later, Bender scored her fourth goal of the game ending Dailey’s day. Drexel’s Kate Sharp was placed in net in relief of Dailey.
The Dragons looked to claw their way back into the game with three unanswered goals down the stretch in the third quarter. Bea Buckley and Caroline Senich scored back-to-back goals from free position attempts. Kluepfel followed them up with her second goal of the day on a quick transition attempt to bring the score to 12-10 in favor of the Pride.
Drexel carried their late third quarter momentum into the fourth quarter as Quinn capitalized on a man-up opportunity. The momentum continued to boil as two minutes later Kluepfel completed her hat trick to even the game at 12 apiece. The run of unanswered goals continued, as Quinn scored her sixth of the game to set a career-high for goals in a game to put Drexel ahead for the first time all game, 13-12.
After six unanswered goals from the Dragons, Mennella finally had enough and took matters into her own hands. Mennella used a nasty spin move to shake off her defender and score her fifth of the game to tie the contest once more. Just over a minute later, Mennella scored once again, this time from a free position attempt to recapture the lead at 14-13.
As time winded down, Hofstra had one last possession to kill as much time off of the clock as possible. However, the Pride turned the ball over leaving Drexel one last opportunity to force overtime. Hofstra’s defense stood strong in the final stand, as the Pride regained possession with 18 seconds left. Mennella played keep away until the final buzzer, allowing the Pride to win a thriller in Hempstead.
As time winded down, Hofstra faced a man-down situation with only a one-goal lead. The Pride’s defense stood strong as Kate Lemery forced a critical turnover, the Dragons drew themselves offside and Mennella ran out the clock for their first win over Drexel since 2019.
“[I’m] really proud of our team, [they] showed a lot of resiliency against a really good Drexel team,” Smith said about the win.
Hofstra will continue their undefeated CAA campaign on Saturday, April 11, against Monmouth University. Start time is set for noon at James M. Shuart Stadium.
