The Hofstra University women’s lacrosse team was demolished in the Battle of Long Island by the Stony Brook University Seawolves by a score of 18-5. The win gave Stony Brook their 11th straight regular season conference championship across their days in the America East conference and into the Coastal Athletic Association (CAA). The Pride now sit at 9-6 overall and 6-1 in CAA play, putting them in third place in the conference. The Seawolves finished their conference slate with a perfect record for the ninth consecutive season, wrapping up at 8-0 with a 14-2 overall record.
Stony Brook had command of this game from the opening draw, quickly scoring the first four goals of the game and never looking back, leading by as much as 14 and never trailing.
Despite giving up 18 goals, Luchianna Cardello had a solid performance, saving 10 Stony Brook shots, including an impressive second quarter where she stopped seven out of 10 shots on goal, many of which were at point-blank range.
Kerry Walser had another multi-goal game, putting two shots behind Stony Brook goalkeepers Emily Manning and Aaliyah Jones. Walser also added an assist to secure her ninth three-point game of the season, and her third in a row.
Lauren Coletti also had a solid showing, scoring twice for her fourth two-goal game this season. Rounding out the Hofstra goal scorers, Taylor Mennella added a goal and an assist.
Stony Brook entered this game with the fifth highest-ranked offense in the country with 16.3 goals per game, and they had no trouble scoring against the Pride’s defense, making 15 goals in the first three quarters before pulling their starters in the fourth.
Ellie Masera ended the game as the second-leading scorer in the country, scoring five goals and two assists to bring her season total to 88 points. After a slightly messy first goal, Masera controlled the game offensively and at the draw circle, winning nine draws.
Stony Brook’s Alex Finn entered the game ninth in the country in assists with 46 to go along with 23 goals. Finn tied Masera for the game lead in points with seven, scoring four goals and assisting on three. On two of her goals, Finn faked out Cardello at point-blank range before easily scoring.
Kailyn Hart scored five times on Sunday, upping her season goal total to 57. The Stony Brook big three of Masera, Finn and Hart had a combined 19 points.
Hofstra will wrap up their regular season on Saturday, April 21, against second-place Drexel University. This game will be a preview of the CAA semifinals, as these teams are locked into the two or three seed and are guaranteed to play each other in the first round. Gametime is noon at the James M. Shuart Stadium.
Photo courtesy of Hofstra Athletics/Vincent Carchietta
