On Saturday, March 2, the No. 2-ranked University of Maryland Terrapins women’s lacrosse program invaded James M. Shuart Stadium for a matchup with the Hofstra Pride. After 60 minutes, Maryland came out victorious, defeating Hofstra by a score of 17-9, breaking the Pride’s four-game win streak.
“I thought we were outworked,” said Hofstra head coach Shannon Smith. “When you’re playing against the No. 2 team you can’t mess up. You have to be more disciplined.”
With 21:44 left in the first half, the game was tied at three. Just 26 seconds later, the Terrapins scored their first of eight consecutive goals. This run broke the tie and gave Maryland an 11-3 lead with 5:40 to go in the first half.
“We overran a lot of ground balls and a lot of 50-50 balls,” Smith said. “There were four missed ground balls that we had that resulted in their goals.”
Despite the eight-goal difference on the stat sheet, it seemed that the Pride and the Terrapins played an even game. Hofstra outshot Maryland 35-32 and only turned the ball over 14 times, opposed to Maryland’s 18 turnovers.
The difference came down to shooting percentage. For the Terrapins, all three of their top scorers finished the game shooting 100 percent. Grace Griffin was five-for-five, Erica Evans three-for-three and Brindi Griffin was two-for-two.
For the Pride, it was a different story. Alexa Mattera went three-for-eight, while Darcie Smith and Erin Demek went zero-for-seven and one-for-four, respectively.
“Their best players are finishing,” Smith said. “We’re not at this point.”
One bright spot for the Pride continues to be freshman netminder Jess Smith, who had 11 saves on the day, including some incredible point-blank saves from inside the arc.
“Jess played really well for us,” Coach Smith said. “In the first and second half, she made some big saves.”
“Honestly it’s just another lacrosse game,” Jess Smith said. “I just try to do the little things right to make that big save. That’s all.”
For the Terrapins, Megan Taylor and Maddie McSally split time in the cage as they both racked up six saves each. Taylor received the win.
Maryland midfielder Griffin scored a career-high five goals.
The Pride’s leading scorer, Alyssa Parrella, was disqualified with 6:36 remaining in the first half after receiving her second yellow card. Both cards were given after offensive shots by Parrella.
Arianna Esposito stepped up in Parrella’s absence, scoring twice. Hofstra attacker, Katie Whelan, had two impressive passes into the arc in the second half which led to goals for Jackie Gatti and Demek respectively.
Ultimately, the Pride was not able to overcome the eight-goal deficit. The closest they came was when Hofstra cut the lead to six with 8:23 to go in the game. That door was quickly shut when the Terrapins responded with two more goals in the last four minutes to give Maryland the 17-9 victory.
With the loss, the Pride find themselves at 4-2 on the season while the Terrapins remain undefeated at 5-0.
Hofstra next plays on Saturday, March 9, when they conclude their homestand at James M. Shuart Stadium versus the John Hopkins University Blue Jays.
Image Courtesy of Hofstra Athletics
