The Hofstra women’s lacrosse team made its third consecutive appearance this year in the Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) Championship, with the exception of 2020 due to COVID-19 cancellations. This year, the Pride traveled to Pennsylvania to take on the Drexel University Dragons in the CAA playoffs that took place on Friday, May 6, at the Vidas Athletic Complex. Heading into the playoffs, the Pride clinched the third seed after defeating Elon the previous week 18-12, while the Dragons were seeded second. The Pride recovered from a large second-half deficit before succumbing 14-10 to end their playoff run.
CAA Player of the week Taylor Mennella had a total of five goals for Hofstra. Mennella netted her first goal just over a minute into the game and made it 2-1 with 10:27 left in the first quarter.
“She’s playing really well,” said Hofstra women’s lacrosse head coach Shannon Smith, taking note to Mennella’s recent uptick in scoring. “It’s really exciting to see, and we’re excited to have her come back next year and continue this momentum that she has at the end of the season.”
With 4:19 remaining before the half, Mennella and senior Kerry Walser scored back-to-back goals to trim the deficit to 5-4. Corinne Bednarik scored with 1:34 left to make it a two-goal game at halftime.
The Pride was behind 10-5 late in the third quarter before scoring five straight goals to tie the game at ten in the fourth. With a goal in the first minute of the third quarter, Drexel extended its lead to three goals before senior Amanda Guerra scored her 10th goal of the season with 13:07 left to pull the Pride within two goals, 7-5.
With three straight goals midway through the third quarter, the Dragons appeared to have a dominant 10-5 lead before Walser added her second of the game with only 19 seconds left in the period to kick-start the rally.
To start the fourth quarter, the Pride scored four goals in the opening eight minutes to tie the game at ten. Walser started the run, followed by two goals from Mennella, resuming her scorching form to complete a hat trick. Guerra made it a one-goal game, and Katie Whelan tied the game with her trademark free-position shot, capping off the rally.
Drexel reclaimed the lead two minutes later, fighting off any remaining Hofstra rallies by scoring the game’s final four goals, accounting for the final score.
Despite the tough loss, head coach Shannon Smith expresses how proud she is of the team and how far they have come.
“They showed a lot of resiliency, showed the heart of our team, the passion of our team, and I was super proud of them to fight back like that,” said Smith.
Shannon Boyle finished her remarkable career with another outstanding game, totaling six draw controls and four ground balls. Junior Kate Fiola had two assists in the game. Senior Jess Smith made nine saves in goal for the Pride, while Guerra and Walser each scored two goals.
Hofstra finishes the season with a 9-8 record. With the win, Drexel improves to 11-7 and goes to the CAA Championship Game against Towson University on Sunday, May 8, at 12 p.m.
Photo Courtesy of Drexel Athletics
