By Stacy Troiano
Much of the talk about the Hofstra women’s lacrosse team has been centered around the senior strength and leadership, and rightfully so as they have recently become the most winningest class in Pride history. But freshman midfielder Corrine Gandolfi’s performance has earned her recent accolades, proving that opposing teams will have more to worry about in the future.
Gandolfi was named CAA Rookie of the Week this week for the second time this season after strong performances against conference foes Delaware and Towson.
During that stretch, Gandolfi tallied a team-high five goals, while adding four caused turnovers and three ground balls. In Sunday’s victory over Towson, Gandolfi led the way for the Pride with four goals, including the eventual game-winner during a 4-1 Hofstra run in the second half, a run in which Gandolfi had three of her four goals on the day.
The freshman added two goals and an assist against Stony Brook on Tuesday, and now has 13 goals and two assists on the year. She’s also totaled 14 caused turnovers, 12 ground balls and two game-winning shots, all categories in which she is in the top five on the team.
Gandolfi, a former Northport High standout, was all-Suffolk County as a junior and senior, and in her senior year she earned high school All-American honors and was also named Suffolk County Player of the Year. In that year she tallied an impressive 56 goals and 63 assists for Northport.
Head coach Abby Morgan and the rest of the Pride know how important it is to have the young scorer at her best coming into tournament time.
“All season she’s been doing the little things; getting draw controls, causing turnovers, getting ground balls,” Morgan said. “Now we’ve really implored her as a coaching staff to go to the goal, and she has. She’s found her role on the team, played consistently, and evolved, and it’s been great to see.”
Morgan said that as a freshman it can be hard to figure out how to contribute to a team with so many dominant seniors, but Gandolfi has certainly done that.
“She’s taken some pressure off the seniors because she’s forced defenders to respect her ability to score goals,” Morgan said, “and it’s been really nice to watch her grow.”