By Kevin Carroll – SPORTS EDITOR
The Hofstra women’s lacrosse team couldn’t overcome an early onslaught from a very powerful Harvard attack, falling behind early and ultimately losing to the Crimson 16-8 in the Pride’s home debut on Saturday afternoon.
“We got off to another slow start,” said head coach Shannon Smith. “Harvard’s an unbelievable team, they played really well. I thought they had a great game plan.”
A beautiful day at James M. Shuart Stadium quickly looked like it was going to turn ugly for the Pride. The Crimson needed just over a minute to score the first goal of the game, courtesy of an unassisted shot from Julia Glynn.
Glynn would have a field day, scoring six goals and assisting on another, as the Pride had no answer on defense for the sophomore attacker from Manhasset.
Two of Glynn’s goals would come as part of an early barrage from the Crimson attack, running the score to 4-0 in the first five minutes of play. Marisa Romeo and Keeley MacAfee added goals as well, as Harvard looked to seize command of this game early.
Hofstra would get on the board three minutes later, as midfielder Carlee Ancona beat the Crimson keeper, and then Lindsey Alfano scored off of a free position shot to cut the deficit to 4-2.
That was as close as it got for the Pride, as Harvard rattled off three unanswered goals to make it a 7-2 lead. Lindsay Scott answered with her first goal of the game to halt the Crimson’s run, but Glynn notched her third goal of the game just seconds later, putting a stop to any momentum building for Hofstra.
After Glynn completed the hat trick, Coach Smith made a change in the net, sending freshman Maddie Fields out to replace the struggling Alexis Greene.
“We had to make a change,” Smith said. “It’s been a goalie battle all year, and it looks like Maddie Fields just won the starting spot.”
Fields was able to slow the Crimson down on offense as the first half drew to a close, making three saves in the half, and only allowing three more goals. The Pride closed the deficit to just three goals, but two late goals from the Crimson widened the gap to 11-6 heading into halftime.
Hofstra opened the scoring in the second half, with Zoe Gomez beating the keeper off of a sweet assist from Scott, but Harvard put the nail in the coffin with four consecutive goals, making it a 15-7 Crimson lead.
The Pride put one more score on the board, with freshman Lexi Lenaghan finding the back of the net for her second goal of the game and fourth on the season, but it was too little, too late for the Pride. The Crimson added one more goal before the final horn, putting the Pride down 16-8 as the game drew to a close.
Scott picked up her second consecutive hat trick to lead the Pride, and Lenaghan continued her promising freshman campaign with two goals and an assist. Gomez, Alfano and Ancone rounded out the scoring for the Pride.
“We have to get better, we’ve got to get this team going in the right direction, because right now we’re not a very good lacrosse team,” said Smith.
For the Crimson, in addition to Glynn’s monster day, Romeo added four goals, and Maeve McMahon chipped in three goals and an assist.
Hofstra will continue to chase its first win of the season next Saturday, Feb. 27, when the Pride takes on Fairfield at James M. Shuart Stadium at 12 p.m.
