Melissa Sconone has never known life without lacrosse.
“I’ve been playing since I could walk,” she said. “My parents were my coaches growing up, and my brothers were always in the backyard throwing balls at me, making sure I could catch everything. I picked up anything and everything I could; I just love to play.”
Sconone wears the number 50 on her Hofstra women’s lacrosse team jersey, the same as her brothers who shaped her game from an early age.
“They have always been my biggest role models, and I’ve wanted to be just like them,” she said. “My brother is a goalie, so getting to shoot on him has been awesome, helping me grow as a player.”
Melissa’s older brother, Sean, played for the University of Massachussetts Amherst and won the nation’s most outstanding goalkeeper in 2019. He’s now with the Denver Outlaws of the Premier Lacrosse League, and along with their brother Robert, the two older siblings inspired Sconone to take her game to an elite level.
A Long Island native, Sconone spent her high school career at East Islip earning All-County honors three times, as well as a spot on the Newsday Top 100 Player list. Inside Lacrosse ranked her at No. 49 overall, and she was the 11th ranked attacker in the incoming freshman class of 2019.
However, these accolades didn’t come without their challenges. Sconone suffered an ACL tear her freshman year of high school before tearing the same ligament in her other knee less than two years later. A knee arthroscopy in her senior year would be her third surgery before she even made it to the University of North Carolina, which she called home for the last four years.
“It was a battle through high school, but it has definitely helped me grow up and taught me so many lessons in life that I’ve been able to transfer on the lacrosse field,” Sconone said.
Sconone, facing the biggest road bump of her playing career, leaned towards her family to weather the storm ahead.
“My family was my rock. They gave me tough love when I needed it but were also there to support me when I was down,” she said. “I would not have made it through without them; I owe a lot of my recovery process and where I am today to them.”
Despite the setbacks, Sconone wouldn’t let her injuries deter her drive to be out on the field with her teammates.
“That first game back is exciting and nerve racking all in one, but it’s just like riding a bike,” she said.
Sconone described her time at UNC as a dream, including reaching the pinnacle of college lacrosse by winning an NCAA national championship in 2022. Now, she sets her focus on the next part of her journey as a member of the Pride.
Through the first 11 games this season, Sconone has fit into the Hofstra starting lineup with ease, scoring eight goals and assisting on nine. Her 17 points are tied for second on the side, but what she contributes to the team goes deeper than the stat sheet.
Despite having over 70 points in four seasons to go along with the national title and pair of Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) championships during her stint at Chapel Hill, Sconone’s favorite memories involve the time spent with her teammates off the field.
“Traveling with the team, team meals, any second on or off the field with my teammates was the best,” Sconone said. “Going to basketball games or football games, just everything about being with the team was awesome.”
Although this season is her first with Hofstra, Sconone described how she’s already building some of the closest relationships with her new teammates.
“We went to California, for University of Southern California, and we got to go down to Santa Monica Pier and Manhattan Beach. Walking around with my teammates and exploring those opportunities was awesome. That was my favorite memory so far,” Sconone said. “[Luchianna] Cardello and Nikki Mennella, those few girls have been awesome with me. I also played with Taylor [Mennella] growing up playing club lacrosse. Kerry Walser has been awesome with welcoming me with open arms; I couldn’t be happier to be on the same team with her and the others.”
Something she’s been looking forward to is coaching, especially after she got her first taste last summer by joining the Long Island Yellow Jackets, working with one of their U15 teams. The club team is where she first met Taylor Mennella.
“It’s just great to give back to the younger generation, the club that groomed you and helped mold me into the player I was at Carolina and now at Hofstra,” Sconone said. “I always had a dream of college coaching.”
That goes together with her pursuit of a master’s degree in physical education.
“The goal right now is to be a physical education teacher and to coach high school sports, but whatever opportunities come at the end of this year I’m definitely going to take them with an open mind,” she said.
Despite the Pride’s 2-3 start to the 2024 campaign, the graduate student’s presence is already being felt and should only grow as the season progresses.
Photo courtesy of Hofstra Athletics/Geoffrey Bolte
