The Hofstra University women’s lacrosse team fell 9-8 to Fairfield University on Saturday, Feb. 21. The Pride’s offense was spearheaded by attackers Nikki Mennella and Kristen Redding, who recorded four points and a hat trick, respectively.
Hofstra struggled with discipline, receiving 11 penalty cards. Fortunately for the Pride, they managed to go 8-11 in man-down situations, only giving up three goals to the Stags during these opportunities.
“We got to learn how to become more disciplined,” said Hofstra head coach Shannon Smith. “I felt that we played way too much man-down defense.”
The Pride opened the scoring with three consecutive goals within the first 10 minutes, two were courtesy of Mennella, while one was scored by Redding. Mennella scored her first by splitting two defenders and her second from a step-down shot. Redding fired the ball into the net from a pass by Kayleigh Bender, who was behind the net.
While Hofstra jumped into an early lead, Fairfield was not deterred as they responded with six goals in a row to lead 6-3. The Stags’ Kelly Haggerty scored a hat trick within their 6-0 run.
However, Bender would not let Fairfield take the momentum into the locker room. She rifled a step-down shot into the top corner of the net to send the game into half with 6-4 in favor of the Stags.
Scoring slowed down for both teams during the third quarter, as each side scored one goal. Hofstra’s Natalie DeMeo scored just over two minutes into the second half from a free position shot. The Pride goalie Luchianna Cardello stopped a Fairfield free position shot in the third.
Scoring production jolted back up in the fourth quarter when the Stags added their eighth goal of the day just over two minutes into the quarter.
Despite the 8-5 deficit in the final frame, the Pride clawed their way back into the game with three unanswered goals to tie the match. Redding grabbed two of the goals to claim her hat trick, while attacker Julia Harris tallied the other.
Redding’s hat trick was her first of the season and came following her absence from the win against Quinnipiac University last weekend.
“[Redding] was really confident out there on the field, finishing her shots and playing free,” Smith said. “It was really nice to see, and we’re going to continue to need that from [Redding].”
Although Hofstra managed to force the game back into a tie, Fairfield broke the deadlock with two minutes and three seconds left in the contest. Stags’ attacker Charlotte Loughlin received the ball in front of the crease and had no issue putting it away for the game winner to give the Stags the 9-8 victory.
In the face of the loss, the Pride still managed to come away from the game with some bright spots. Hofstra dominated the draws, going 13-19 at midfield.
“We’ve got to continue to take it day by day, we’ve got to continue to get better. I think a big thing is cleaning up our mental mistakes,” Smith said.
The Pride looks to get back in the win column as they hit the road next week with matchups against Marist University and Rutgers University. Hofstra will take on the Red Foxes of Marist on Wednesday, Feb. 25, at 12 p.m.
