On a cool Saturday night, March 30, the Hofstra women’s lacrosse team defeated the Columbia Lions 13-8 behind four-goal performances from Alyssa Parrella and Katie Whelan in their final non-conference matchup of the season.
The opening five minutes of the game began with a bang for the Pride as Whelan and Parrella each found the net along with Alexa Mattera to jump to an early 4-0 lead over the lions.
“We were winning draw controls with Darcie (Smith)” Hofstra head coach Shannon Smith said when asked how the team got their early lead. “Offensively we were moving really well.”
Columbia would find an answer though as Lindsey Ewertsen found the back of the net off a free position shot to make the score 4-1. The Pride answered back just three minutes later when Parrella scored her own free position shot to make the score 5-1 Pride.
For the next fifteen minutes the Pride and Lions each traded goals with Parrella scoring all the goals for the Pride in that timeframe.
Before the half ended, there was some controversy as off a draw control between Parrella and Alyssa Adamo, a yellow card was assessed on the Pride team as a whole.
Columbia would tack on one final goal before the half to make it 8-5 but the Pride still had their lead intact.
At the half, the Pride were outshooting Columbia 13-11 and also beating them on draw controls by a 9-5 advantage overall.
Entering the second half, Columbia forwards Rachel Graff and Alexandria Absey each scored once to cut the lead to just one for the Hofstra Pride making the score 8-7.
Just a minute later Amanda Guerra scored her first goal of the season and also gave the Pride a 9-7 lead off a rocket of a shot from a few yards out.
Columbia scored one more time to make the score 9-8, but from that point forward the Pride dominated.
The Pride scored four times in three minutes to make the score 13-8 and secure their victory over Columbia.
The Pride defense also help contribute to the win as in the final fifteen minutes, goalie Jess Smith made four crucial saves to maintain the Pride lead and the defense continuously cleared the ball out and won ground ball situations.
In the end, the Pride outshot Columbia 11-9 in the second half and won 10 ground ball controls compared to the Lion’s 6.
“We thought our defense…. really stepped up for us in the last 15 minutes of the game,” Smith said.
The Pride end non-conference play with a record of 7-4 and begin the Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) play this Friday April 5 when they face the Tribe of William & Mary at 5 p.m.at James M. Shuart Stadium.
Photo courtesy of Hofstra Athletics
