A strong second half for the Hofstra women’s lacrosse team, including six goals by senior midfielder Alyssa Parrella, put the Pride past the Wagner College Seahawks on Tuesday, Feb. 18, in their first road game of the season. The final score of 15-8 at Hameline Field moves the Pride to 2-1 this season as Wagner falls to 1-2.

Hofstra went up first with a free position goal by senior Alexa Mattera in the third minute, but quickly fell behind as Wagner scored three times to make it 3-1 with 22:35 left in the first period.

The scoreboard saw an even back-and-forth matchup through the rest of the first half as sophomore attackman Grace Langella scored off a free position shot with 20:26 left, followed by a goal from Wagner’s Stephanie Falcone.

Parrella would then go on to score her first goal of the game at the 18:26 mark, quickly answered by the Seahawks’ Erin Kerstetter less than a minute later.

Hofstra added three more to the board, courtesy of sophomore attackman Amanda Guerra, Parrella and sophomore midfielder Alyssa DeAngelo before the buzzer rang, but Wagner got the last word when they added a goal with 9:41 left to even the score, 6-6, at the half. 

DeAngelo’s goal marks the first of her career.

After the half, Parrella came out strong, adding Hofstra’s seventh goal to the board only 1:36 into the second period.

The Pride would stay hot, scoring seven more unanswered goals in an 11:26 period to control the game 14-6 with 10:40 left in the second half.

Parrella recorded four of those goals and Erin Demek, Guerra and Mattera each added one themselves.

Wagner would find the back of the net twice more with 6:52 and 3:34 left as Falcone and Kerstetter each scored one more for the home team. 

However, Parrella sealed the deal scoring her eighth of the day at the 2:34 mark to close out the game 15-8.

Parrella’s eight goals in the game marks a career-high and puts her past 200 career goals in total.

Parrella is the only player in program history to have recorded 200 goals, the only active NCAA Division I women’s lacrosse player with that many and the fifth player in Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) history to reach the 200 mark.

Hofstra recorded 40 shots throughout the 60 minutes, beating out Wagner’s 33.

Of those, the Pride saw 14 free-position shots but only converted four into goals, while Wagner had nine attempts and only converted one into a goal.

However, Wagner owned the ground balls, winning the battle 28-23 over the Pride.

In net, Hofstra’s sophomore goalkeeper Jess Smith recorded a career-high 14 saves.

The Pride will be back in action as they face Fairfield University on Saturday, Feb. 22, at James M. Shuart Stadium. Game time is set for 11 a.m.

Photo Courtesy of Hofstra Athletics