Hofstra women’s lacrosse snagged a 12-4 win at home on Saturday, March 23, against Sacred Heart University as Alyssa Parrella tied her career high with seven goals.
Although the Pioneers opened up the scoring on a Lydia Werlau goal with 27:48 left to play in the first half, the Pride took full control of the momentum soon after, finding the back of the net six times unanswered while allowing for only one Sacred Heart goal before the halftime buzzer sounded.
Four of the six Hofstra first half goals came by the way of Parrella, while Katie Whelan and Alexa Mattera each added one.
The second half was much of the same for the teams, as the Pride came out firing, scoring five straight goals and climbing to an 11-2 lead before Sacred Heart would see themselves on the board again.
Ultimately, the offensive attack backed by a stout defense held the game in Hofstra’s control.
“Our defense is really growing because they’re super young,” said head coach Shannon Smith. “Our freshmen are really stepping up and Shannon Boyle does a tremendous job for us every game. She’s a sophomore playing like a senior for us. A lot of growth individually on the defensive side of the field. [There’s] a lot more confidence and they’re really starting to play together well as a unit.”
Hofstra won draw controls 13-4 and held a large advantage in ground balls as well, finishing with a 21-7 lead in the category.
Darcie Smith had 12 of the Pride’s 13 draw controls, a dominant feat that led to plenty of opportunities for the Pride offensively.
“She’s been doing incredible,” Parrella said. “She’s been working so hard on the draws and also on the defensive side of the field. She basically starts the offense for us. I give her all the props to our possessions on offense because without her we wouldn’t have all the draw controls we do.”
In garbage time with the game all but over, the Pioneers managed to put two more points on the board, both by Werlau, before the Pride took in the victory and improved to 6-3 on the season.
It was Hofstra’s second straight victory after having defeated High Point University exactly one week before.
After playing four of their last five games at home, the Pride will be on the road for its last two non-conference games as it travels to Hanover, New Hampshire on Tuesday, March 26, to face Dartmouth University and Manhattan on Saturday, March 30, to face Columbia University. Both games can be streamed on ESPN+.
Image Courtesy of Hofstra Athletics
