The Hofstra University women’s lacrosse team defeated Elon University 7-6 in their opening Coastal Athletic Association (CAA) game.
“It was really exciting to get our first win in conference play starting 1-0,” said Hofstra head coach Shannon Smith. “It was a really tough game – hats off to Elon because they are a good team.”
Hofstra’s star attacker, Nikki Mennella, had five points on two goals and three assists. Mennella moved into sole possession of fourth place in Hofstra program history in points with 214. Mennella needs just two points to jump into third place and dethrone Kimberly Hillier, who has 215 points.
“[Mennella is] the heart and soul of the offense,” Smith said. “She’s fiery, celebrates hard and she has a will to win. She was everywhere. I think, as a captain and a senior, she realized how important the game was, and she left it all out on the field.”
Mennella finished the game with three caused turnovers and three ground balls in addition to her five points. Attacker Kayleigh Bender had two goals in her return to the lineup. She played for the first time since the game against Fairfield University on Feb. 21.
Hofstra goalkeeper, Luchianna Cardello, made seven saves, while Elon’s goalie, Caitlin Walsh, had eight saves.
The Pride jumped on the Phoenix early, scoring three unanswered goals in the first quarter to take a 3-0 advantage after the opening 15 minutes. Bender connected twice, while Natalie DeMeo added one goal. Sophomore Jordyn Poll managed an assist on DeMeo’s marker.
The Pride stumbled out of the second quarter, and the game’s dynamic switched. In the first quarter, the Pride were player-up three times and converted on a free-position opportunity. In the second quarter, Hofstra took three consecutive cards. Elon scored twice in free positions and four times in the second quarter in total, taking a 4-3 lead into halftime.
Kristen Redding and Kate Lemery connected at the beginning of the third quarter to restore Hofstra’s lead with 5-4. The lead only lasted two minutes, though, because Lillian Austin tied the game at five.
Elon held Mennella off the scoresheet until midway through the fourth, when she gave Hofstra a 6-5 advantage. A free position tied the game with just under two minutes left.
The Pride won the ensuing draw control, and Smith called a timeout. After the timeout, the ball was worked to the right side of the goal line extended, where Mennella found space to draw a dodge and unloaded from inside the eight-meter mark. Mennella’s 30th goal of the season came with one minute and 20 seconds left and sealed the victory for Hofstra.
Hofstra’s biggest advantage of the game came in stealing possession back from Elon. The Phoenix entered the game clearing the ball successfully 92% of the time, but they went just 15-23. Hofstra also had a positive-five turnover margin.
“[The defense] worked hard on the ride today,” said Smith. “[Mennella] road hard; [Christine] Dannenfelser came up with a lot of caused turnovers. Overall, we showed a lot of heart on the ride.”
The Pride also remained close in draw controls. Elon’s MJ Santa Barbara is the program leader in draw controls with 290 and averages over five per game this season. The Pride won seven out of 15 draw controls to keep the number of possessions in their favor.
“[Madeleine] Rudolph did a great job on the draws against Santa Barbara, who is really tough on the draws,” Smith said. “We were able to neutralize that aspect of their game and keep it 50-50.”
Last season, Elon defeated Hofstra 14-12 and earned the final CAA conference tournament spot over the Pride as a result of their head-to-head.
Hofstra’s next game was against Princeton University on Wednesday, March 18 at 7 p.m. at James M. Shuart Stadium.
