The Hofstra womens lacrosse team defeated Wagner College 15-10 on Tuesday afternoon in Staten Island at Hameline Field. This win brings the Pride to 2-0 to kick off the 2018 season.
In the past two years, Hofstra has been 2-0 against Wagner and Tuesdays game was no different. Wagner kicked off the game by scoring within the first two minutes, but Hofstra came back hard with eight goals before intermission.
We came out really strong, we got a little frantic in the first half, but overall we stepped up in areas we needed to step up in, said Hofstra head coach Shannon Smith.
Sophomore Alyssa Parrella scored Hofstras first goal from a free position shot to put the Pride on the board. Hofstra continued to score with goals from free positions with shots from senior Carlee Ancona and sophomore Alexa Mattera. Katie Whelan also scored in the first half to bring the score to 8-4 before the end of the period. Hofstra won 10 of the draw controls while Wagner was only able to win three in the first half; however, they turned over the ball eight times.
Wagner came back strong in the second half, but Hofstra was able to keep control of the game for the win by gaining possession during draws and successfully getting ground balls. Parrella was once again the first to score in the half with an assist from Shannon Boyle. Mattera followed this up with another goal after a few missed attempts from Hofstra, but they were able to recover. Drew Shapiro also scored in this half.
Mattera was Hofstras top scorer with five goals and one assist. Carlee Ancona also reached a career-high with four goals. Parrella scored a total of four goals and had two assists for the Pride with a game-high of five draw controls. Junior Maddie Fields had nine shots saved for Hofstra.
Hofstra had a total of 23 shots on goal and won draw control 15 times versus Wagners 12. The Pride caused six turnovers and gained possession of 21 ground balls. Although it is still early in the season, their performance in Tuesdays game shows promise.
The Pride will be back this Saturday against Fairfield at the James M. Shuart Stadium at 3 p.m.
