Clear skies over James M. Shuart Stadium did not translate to a clear path to victory for the Hofstra Pride on Saturday, April 2, as the women’s lacrosse team hosted the No. 12 James Madison University (JMU) Dukes for Hofstra’s Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) home opener of the season.
The Pride was off to a promising start when Hofstra’s Erin Demek was the first to leave a mark on the scoreboard, scoring a clean-cut free position goal. JMU did not hesitate to respond, as redshirt sophomore Taylor Marchetti’s speedy zigzagging netted a goal 62 seconds after Demek. This was the first of several consecutive goals for the Dukes, who went on a 4-0 streak before Taylor Mennella’s free position goal began closing the score gap to 4-2. Demek extended the courtesy in her assist to Grace Langella, sneaking in between defensive players to stealthily strike just 41 seconds later.
Just under three minutes into the second quarter, Lauren Coletti scored her first goal of the game, only for JMU attacker Isabella Peterson to respond by completing a hat trick, followed up by a fourth goal less than a minute later. Coletti had no issue getting assistance from midfielder Jackie Gatti to find the back of the net for the second time, following up on her scoring successes from the team’s previous game against the University of Connecticut. Peterson sought to change that up and did so when she scored 39 seconds later. Only two minutes after this did usually high-scoring attacker Katie Whelan net her first goal of the day.
In the third quarter, the Dukes proved why they have their ranking. JMU took over in the blink of an eye after Gatti scored two minutes into the third. Tai Jankowski sandwiched her goals, buffered only by another score by Peterson, all in less than three minutes. One minute later, Kacey Knobloch found the time to complete a hat trick, followed up by Peterson scoring again 50 seconds after. The Pride barely had possession for the remainder of the quarter, and Marchetti’s second goal of the day with 2:33 left in the third gave the Dukes a 15-8 advantage.
“We didn’t capitalize on [scoring opportunities],” said Hofstra head coach Shannon Smith.
Whelan gave the Pride a shot at redemption when she scored first in the fourth quarter. Demek followed up to make it a five-point game with 9:15 remaining, but the Dukes outlasted the Pride and didn’t allow any more scoring. One more goal apiece for Peterson and Knobloch brought the final score to 17-10 for the JMU win.
The Hofstra women’s lacrosse team is scheduled for their next faceoff against the University of Delaware Blue Hens at Delaware Stadium in Newark, Delaware on Wednesday, April 6.
Photo courtesy of Evan Bernstein/Hofstra Athletics
