The Hofstra women’s lacrosse team pulled out their first conference win in an overtime thriller, beating the College of William & Mary 15-14 on Sunday afternoon.
With the game tied 14-14 and just over four minutes remaining in overtime, Katie Whelan wrapped around the goal and shot the ball into the net to send the Pride home victorious.
The game winning goal came after many momentum swings in both directions.
While the Tribe got to an early 2-0 lead in the beginning of the game off Sophie Kopec and Meredith Hughes goals, the Pride responded quickly.
The Pride went on to score three of their own goals to snatch the lead from the Tribe.
Though William & Mary and Hofstra would go back-and-forth scoring two goals each, Hofstra took off, scoring four straight to end the half with a 9-4 lead.
As the Pride did in the first half, the Tribe swung right back at the start of the second, though with much greater force.
William & Mary then hit the back of the net five consecutive times in just six minutes of action.
Kopec opened and closed the run for the Tribe, scoring two goals, while Hughes was responsible for the three in between.
Hofstra then went on a 4-0 run, later followed by the Tribe scoring five of the next six goals to send it into overtime.
In the high scoring, run-heavy affair, the Pride had six players with at least two goals, with all but Mary Kate Gerety adding an assist as well.
Drew Shapiro and Alexa Mattera had three, while Whelan, Gerety, Carlee Ancona and Alyssa Parrella each finished with two goals.
Defensively, Ancona and Parrella each had four caused turnovers, while Mattera posted a game-high seven draw controls.
The Tribe attack was more centralized than Hofstra’s, with two players scoring nine of their 14 goals.
Kopec and Hughes, were incredibly efficient, with Kopec scoring five goals and Hughes scoring four on six shots apiece.
Other players on the board for the Tribe were Abby Corkum and McKinley Wade, who each scored twice, and Maddie Torgerson who added one more.
Hofstra goalie Maddie Fields played 57 minutes in the match, saving six goals to earn her seventh win of the season.
The Pride now sit with a 7-5 record overall, and 1-1 mark in conference play.
After hopping back on track with Sunday’s road win, the Pride will go back home and wait until Friday, April 13 to take on the University of Delaware at James M. Shuart Stadium.
