The Hofstra women’s lacrosse team topped the Columbia University Lions 10-8 this past Saturday, on the road at Robert K. Kraft Field. The Pride’s winning streak remains intact going into conference play with this fourth consecutive win. The Pride improves 6-3 for the season, while the Lions drop to 6-4 on the year.
Despite an offensive push from the Lions late in the second half, Columbia was not able to close the deficit and trailed the Pride by at least two goals for all 60 minutes of play.
Senior Becky Conto and junior Drew Shapiro proved to be valuable offensive players for the Pride in this match. Conto and Shapiro were the leading scorers for the Pride, collectively racking up seven of Hofstra’s 10 goals.
Conto gave the Pride an early lead to start the contest, getting the ball from Lexi Lenaghan and slipping it past Columbia goalie Kelsey Gedin – just two minutes after the opening draw control. Shapiro was quick to add three more unassisted goals to the total only ten minutes into play. This strong start prompted an aggressive offensive play from the Pride for most of the first half. Conto and Shapiro also led the team in shots, totaling six and nine respectively.
Freshman Alexa Mattera scored the last goal of the first period and the first goal of the second half. Sophomore Lenaghan scored the Pride’s tenth and final goal with 12 minutes left to play. Freshman Alyssa Parrella led the Pride in assists, totaling three in this game.
Columbia attempted to push back against the Hofstra offense. The Lions were quick to respond to the Pride’s goals, but were unable to completely catch up. Columbia was able to gain possession of the ball, but struggled to maintain it. Repeatedly, the Lions would gain possession and successfully clear the field only for the Pride to force a turnover.
The Lions also struggled to capitalize on their nine free position attempts, only scoring one free position goal. These nine opportunities offered Columbia many chances to score and close the gap, but the Pride defense did not allow it.
Hofstra goalkeeper Maddie Fields had herself an impressive game on Saturday. Fields’ strong defense of the goal proved vital during Columbia’s last minute push to score. The goalie tallied four saves within the final two minutes of play alone, as the Lions took a number of shots in an attempt to salvage the game. Fields tallied 15 saves in the match compared to Gedin’s six.
Columbia outshot the Pride 34-27 and managed to get more shots on goal (SOG), but Fields turned the Lions away repeatedly. Hofstra was able to hold on and pick up a fourth straight win, providing a huge boost of momentum heading into conference play.
The Pride next plays April 7, at Drexel University.