Without the services of standout sophomore Alyssa Parrella for most of the evening, the Hofstra women’s lacrosse team was simply outmatched by Dartmouth College, falling behind by as many as 11 goals before losing to the Big Green 17-9 on Friday at James M. Shuart Stadium.
“It was a really disappointing loss, but Dartmouth played a really good game and played really well on the offensive side,” said Hofstra head coach Shannon Smith.
The Big Green took it right to Hofstra from the get-go, scoring their first goal in just under two minutes and quickly piling on. After just 10 minutes, Dartmouth was already up 8-0 and the Pride could hardly muster anything on offense. Hofstra couldn’t find the back of the net until the 13:57 mark of the first half, when Alexa Mattera made the most of a free-position opportunity and fired one past Dartmouth goalie Kiera Vrindten.
Mattera was possibly the lone bright spot for the Hofstra offense on Friday, scoring four goals all on free-position opportunities. Five of the Pride’s nine goals came off of penalties, as Hofstra struggled to get into a rhythm while the Big Green were at full strength.
A big part of this was the absence of Parrella, who left the game after just a few minutes. Parrella currently leads the team in goals (22), assists (9) and draw controls (33), and her absence was notable all evening.
“Alyssa is a phenomenal player, she’s all over the field,” Smith said. “Even if Alyssa’s not playing well, she draws a lot of attention.”
Without Parrella to take the draw controls, Dartmouth was able to control the circle and maintain control of the ball for much of the first half. By the time both teams headed to the locker room, Dartmouth held a 11-5 advantage in draw controls and a 12-3 lead on the scoreboard.
“They really killed us in the draw controls, which was a big difference for them,” Smith said.
The second half saw a much more even game, with Hofstra performing better in the circle and putting up more of a fight than they had in the first.
The Pride’s struggles on defense continued however, and after the Big Green stretched the lead to 15-4, Smith pulled goalie Maddie Fields in favor of Sara Guarascio. Guarascio only gave up two goals in almost 18 minutes of time in net.
Adding a goal apiece for the Pride were Carlee Ancona, Drew Shapiro, Mary Kate Gerety, Arianna Esposito and Katie Whelan.
Hofstra dropped to 3-4 on the season with the loss, while Dartmouth improved to 4-1. Elizabeth Mastrio and Kierra Sweeney led the Big Green with four goals each.
The Pride will be back in action on Tuesday, March 20, when they play host to Columbia University at 4 p.m.
