A four-goal run by the Pride women’s lacrosse team wasn’t enough on Friday, May 14, as the Loyola University Maryland Greyhounds defeated Hofstra, 11-9, in the first round of the NCAA women’s lacrosse tournament at the Carrier Dome in Syracuse, NY.
“I thought we fought hard; we showed a lot of fortitude, tenacity, and just a lot of resiliency,” said Hofstra head coach Shannon Smith.
The Pride’s tournament appearance marked their first in 14 years. They received an at-large bid into the tournament and were matched up with the Patriot League champions, Loyola Maryland.
Although the Greyhounds took an early two-goal lead at the hands of Emily Wills and Elli Kluegel, the Pride responded with an Alyssa Parrella free-position goal.
After a media timeout, Parrella won a draw control and was able to assist Grace Langella on her first goal of the game, tying the Pride with the Greyhounds at two. Katie Whelan followed up Langella later with a flip-shot goal that deflected into the net off of Loyola goaltender Kaitlyn Larsson, giving the Pride a one-point advantage.
The Greyhounds then went on a five-goal run to end the first half of the contest and take a commanding 7-3 lead.
Parrella started the scoring in the second half with her second goal of the afternoon, but she was answered a little over a minute later when Livy Rosenzweig gave Maryland a four-goal lead again.
With 25:52 remaining, Alexa Mattera brought the Pride back to within three, but the Pride wasn’t able to build off that momentum, and 13 minutes later Caitlyn Gunn brought Loyola’s lead back to four.
After Whelan won the following draw control, two fouls and a yellow card on Loyola put the Pride in a woman-up situation resulting in Langella’s second goal of the afternoon. This once again cut the Pride’s deficit to three.
Despite a foul to Hofstra, a turnover by Loyola set up Whelan’s second goal of the afternoon. Several moments later, Parrella notched her third goal of the afternoon, making it a one-point game.
After Sabrina Cristodero won the following faceoff, Shannon Smith called timeout for Hofstra to set up a play.
While Whelan had possession, she found Jackie Gatti coming out in front of the net and launched a shot that found the back of the net tying the Pride with Greyhounds at nine apiece.
The Pride had a chance to take the lead, but a shot from Mattera with 4:46 left to play was stopped by Larsson. Loyola cleared the ball and Kluegel regained the lead for the Greyhounds, putting them back up by one with 1:40 remaining.
After Loyola won the following possession, Sydni Black gave the Greyhounds a two-goal advantage. The clock ticked down, and Loyola advanced to the second round by defeating the Pride with a score of 11-9.
Jess Smith took the loss for the Pride despite adding nine saves. She also led Hofstra with three ground balls. Anna Kaufmann led the Pride with two caused turnovers.
Darcie Smith finished her Hofstra career with a program record of 232 draw controls and is ranked third in CAA history.
Katie Whelan added two goals and two assists, and those assists moved her into sixth place all-time for Hofstra in the statistic, as she finished with 61 for her career.
Alexa Mattera added a goal on the day. She finished her career with 125 goals to finish sixth all-time in program history and her 152 points is ranked No. 10.
In Alyssa Parrella’s final game for the Pride, she led the way with three goals and tied a team-high of two assists. She finishes her career at Hofstra with 261 goals, ranking 10th all-time in NCAA history. Her 261 goals and 94 assists are the most all-time at Hofstra and in the Colonial Athletic Association.
“I’m really going to cherish our relationship overall and all the memories we’ve had over the five years,” Shannon Smith said. “I think Alyssa is an incredible teammate and an incredible worker. She’ll be the best player that’s ever left Hofstra.”
“We fought hard, and we never gave up out there on the field,” Shannon Smith said.
Photo Courtesy of Hofstra Athletics
