By Mike Rudin – Sports Editor
Hofstra women’s lacrosse team suited up against the No. 6 Stony Brook Seawolves last Tuesday in a home-field matchup at James M. Shuart Stadium and the Pride endured a rough 12-8 loss to Stony Brook.
“It’s a tough loss to swallow. But Stony brook’s a tremendous team, they’re No. 6 in the country right now,” said head coach Shannon Smith. “We struggled defensively, they were strolling the ball a lot in the second half. We struggled a little bit defensively in the second half, we left a lot of goals we usually didn’t.”
The Pride dropped to 10-5 overall on the season while the Seawolves improved to 15-1. Hofstra’s five-game wins streak is shattered yet Stony Brook boosted their winning streak to four consecutive games.
Despite the loss, senior Britain Altomare made program history tying the university’s all-time record for points with 240. She tied the record once she scored her 20th goal of the season as well as notched an assist versus the Seawolves.
The first half consisted of both teams matching each other, goal for goal until the Seawolves took ahead by halftime 5-4.
Stony Brook’s defense outmatched the Pride’s offense in a game that aggressive play rattled the Pride and miscues by the players and team overall hindered the Pride’s chances throughout the game.
12 fouls by the Pride in the first half alone made things difficult, including the yellow card issued to April Iannetta during the 19th minute of the first period for unsportsmanlike conduct.
That penalty could’ve made matters worse but luckily Gregerson blocked the shot for the only save of the first half.
The Seawolves limited the Pride offense to nine shots in the first period and Stony Brook’s goalkeeper made two saves while Hofstra’s Kelsey Gregerson made one, which provided enough separation for a 5-4 lead at halftime.
The turning point where Stony Brook took over was in the beginning of the second half when the Seawolves rallied ahead with three straight goals in the opening eight minutes of the final half.
“We were losing the draw controls and were getting beat off the offensive side,” said Smith. “Brittain was hitting the ball where she wanted to go, we weren’t boxing out. We weren’t fast enough off the restraining line.”
Initial possession is a critical factor in every game and that put Hofstra at a slight disadvantage since Stony Brook led draw controls 13-9.
The trio of goals by SBU’s Dorrien Van Dyke, Courtney Murphy and Taylor Ranftle put the Pride in a bind, down 8-4 with 22:22 left remaining.
Lindsay Alfano tried to breathe life back into the Pride with a pair of unassisted goals on Hofstra’s end. Her burst of offensive production pushed Hofstra within three, 9-6, and raised the idea of a comeback with 16 minutes remaining.
The Seawolves tactic was drawing out as much time as possible and executed it well. Stony Brook kept Hofstra off the board for the next eight minutes.
In the meantime, SBU’s Kylie Ohlmiller and Van Dyke scored pair of goals, making things bleak for Hofstra.
The Pride’s Shea MacAvoy and Morgan Knox shot back-to-back goals as a last ditch effort to get a rally going.
Once less than three minutes stood on the clock, Gregerson was pulled out of the game and it immediately for Stony Brook’s final goal of the game at 1:52. The Seawolves killed the remaining time and took the win.
Kelsey Gregerson allowed 12 goals with two saves in the game and had a .143 save percentage.
Morgan Knox and Lindsay Alfano were the only Pride players with two-goal performances against Stony Brook.
The Hofstra Pride hosts Senior Night at James M. Shuart Stadium against the Drexel Dragons for the final regular season match of 2015. The match is scheduled to commence at 7:00 p.m.
