Seamless teamwork and coordination, a strong defense and split-second goals landed the Hofstra women’s lacrosse team a win on Saturday, Feb. 22, when they played the Long Island University Sharks at the Bethpage Federal Credit Union Stadium in Brookville, New York.
Their opening game was a smashing success, beating the Sharks 8-5 in their home territory.
The Sharks scored the only point scored during the first quarter, but their lead wasn’t maintained for long as the Pride was quick to make a comeback with junior Taylor Mennella tying the game up in the second quarter.
Assisted by Shannon Boyle, Jackie Gatti scored the next goal, starting the lead for the rest of the game. Katie Kelly and Mennella each scored before the end of the second quarter, giving Hofstra a 4-1 lead by halftime. Kelly’s goal was the first of her Hofstra career.
After halftime, the Pride scored two more goals consecutively, with Kelly making her second goal of the game, followed by Erin Demek, giving Hofstra a dominating five-goal lead. The Sharks started slowly catching up, scoring at the 8:17 mark of the third quarter and leaving the Pride at a 6-2 advantage.
The Pride suffered a penalty near the end of the third quarter as Kelly was given her first and only yellow card of the game.
That was not enough to break the Hofstra spirit, however. Less than five minutes into the fourth quarter the Pride scored again, thanks to Kerry Walser, which brought their lead up to five before the Sharks once again answered.
All was quiet on the field when the Pride had a free position shot at 7:44, successfully completed by Mennella, getting the Pride their eighth and final goal of the day. This was her third goal of the day, giving her the second hat trick of her career with the Pride, the first being when the Pride played against Bucknell University on February 15, 2020.
The defense had all hands on deck, too, with goalie Jess Smith successfully defending half a dozen shots throughout the game.
The Pride’s next face-off will be against Army West Point on Feb. 19, at 12 p.m., followed by a match against Brown University on Feb. 22, at 1 p.m.
Photo courtesy of Hofstra Athletics