Strong overall play by the Hofstra Pride women’s lacrosse team helped push them over the Towson University Tigers 15-14 at the James M. Shuart Stadium on Saturday, May 1.
The Hofstra Pride women’s lacrosse team came into Saturday’s final regular-season game looking to obtain a win and help them in the playoff picture.
Despite the Tigers taking an early one-goal lead, Alyssa Parrella got the Pride on the board with her first goal of the afternoon. After winning the following draw control, she gave Pride their first lead of the game with her second goal.
Alexa Mattera chipped in two goals while Katie Whelan added one for herself and Parrella finished with three first-half goals.
Blair Pearre scored all four first-half goals for the Tigers as they saw themselves down 4-6 heading into halftime.
Despite Mattera opening the second half with her third goal of the day, Kaitlin Thornton and Nikki Sliwak’s back-to-back goals brought the Tigers to within one.
A few minutes later, Camryn Faith added a free position shot goal for the Pride bringing the margin back to two goals but Kerri Liucci and Pearre tied the game at eight.
The Pride responded with a three-goal run as Arianna Esposito added her first goal of the afternoon and Parrella chipped in her fourth and fifth of the afternoon with 15:54 remaining.
Despite Thornton scoring the ninth goal for the Tigers, Mattera responded with her fourth goal of the afternoon bringing the Hofstra lead back to three.
Abbe Mona and Lindsey Marshall were able to chip away at the deficit as they brought Towson to within a goal. Despite Grace Langella giving the Pride a two-goal cushion, the Tigers tied the game with goals from Pearre and Sliwak.
After minutes of both teams trading possession, Parrella saw herself heavily guarded in front of the net, after several dodge attempts she was able to find a cutting Kerry Walser who put in the game-winning goal against the Tigers.
The Pride were able to stand their ground on defense as they defeated the Towson Tigers 15-14.
Jess Smith got the win for the Pride as she had nine saves during the afternoon. She also had a team-high of three ground balls.
Kate Fiola and Shannon Boyle led with two caused turnovers.
Mattera had four goals and had a team-high of two assists.
Parrella moved up to 12th all-time in NCAA history with 257 goals. She passed head coach, Shannon Smith, who had 254 goals during her collegiate career.
“Couldn’t be more proud of Alyssa, it’s an incredible accomplishment, she’s got a lot of goals and she’s quickly moving up in the NCAA rankings,” Shannon Smith said.
The Pride will be getting ready for the playoffs as they will start on Friday, May 7, when No. 3 Hofstra faces No. 2 James Madison University in the CAA Tournament.
Photo Courtesy of Jacob Lewis/The Hofstra Chronicle
