The Pride women’s lacrosse team were victorious in their last game of the regular season on Saturday, April 27, as they defeated Drexel University by the score of 19-11.
Hofstra freshman Erin Demek had a career game, netting seven goals which is the most by a Hofstra freshman since Alyssa Parrella scored seven of her own against Fairfield her freshman year.
“She has been putting a lot of extra work in. I think she is starting to gain more and more confidence and we are really excited about it,” said Hofstra head coach Shannon Smith.
With Demek leading the way, the Pride put together a dispersed offensive attack to take down Drexel and show their depth in scoring from all angles with 13 assists as a unit, their most since 2012. Hofstra’s Alyssa Parrella added four goals and three assists, while senior Jenna Budd and freshman Camryn Faith each added two goals of their own in the contest.
The Pride got off to a very hot start to the game as they scored the first nine goals of the contest. The offense was clicking as Parrella added three goals and Demek added two of her own in the unanswered run. The team’s great play continued all the way into the halftime break as they entered the locker room leading 12-3 over Drexel and having all the momentum on their side.
Though down early, The Dragons fought back and made it a game in the second half as they closed within three goals of the Pride to make the score 13-10. This is when Demek stepped up her game and began a four goal spurt in just a 5:18 span to give the Pride a commanding lead on the game en route to their eight goal victory on the afternoon.
“[I’m] just really excited to end our season with a big win over another conference opponent. Offensively, we were on fire in the first half,” Smith said on her team after the victory. “We got to continue to play with this confidence as we go into our conference tournament next week.”
Many players had career best performances on the afternoon, as sophomore Katie Whelan posted a career best five assists while Budd totaled a career high five points in the win. There were also numerous landmarks achieved for key Hofstra players, as junior Darcie Smith and Parrella each broke Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) single season records. Darcie Smith who had seven draws on the game now has a total of 111 for the season, breaking the single season mark of 108 set last year. Parrella’s four goals on the day moved her to 82 on the season, breaking the previous record of 81 set in 2004.
No. 3 Hofstra will get ready to play on Friday, May 3, as they take on No. 2 Towson University in Harrisonburg, Virginia for their first game in the CAA tournament. This game will be the CAA semifinal matchup and will decide who gets to play for the championship on Sunday, May 5. The game is set to begin at 7 p.m.
Image Courtesy of Hofstra Athletics
