Mattera prepares for last dance with women's lacrosse
As spring sports came to an unexpected end due to the coronavirus outbreak and the NCAA announced an extra year of eligibility for student-athletes, no one knew whether the trio of program-leading seniors on Hofstra’s women’s lacrosse team – Alexa Mattera, Alyssa Parrella and Darcie Smith – would return.
However, in a statement issued on Friday, April 17, the community got an answer: “We’re back.”
For Long Island native Mattera, the decision to return came after a “roller coaster of emotion.”
“It was really a devastating blow [for the season to be cut short] because we had such a special group of kids and we really wanted to make something special happen,” Mattera said. “It was a mixture of disappointment, frustration and agony. [We] really just wanted to play and continue our season and do something special.”
The Pride had their eyes locked on winning the Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) championship game this season after falling to James Madison University in last year’s final.
Mattera had to consider more than just her desire for a championship when deciding whether to return. She also had to consider where her schooling would take her.
After much discussion with family, teammates, coaches and academic advisors, her pursuit of a master’s degree brought her right back to Hempstead.
“I found a program ... and it ended up being perfect for me to go back to Hofstra and play lacrosse,” Mattera said. “When I found out Darcie [Smith] and Alyssa [Parrella] also would be coming back it really pushed me to want to find a program.”
After she graduates this year with a degree in linguistics, the student-athlete will enroll in Hofstra’s Teaching English as a Second Language master’s program next year, where she will also study special education. When she is not in class or the library, Mattera can be found on the field working tirelessly towards her goals, despite the sacrifices she may have to make.
“At the end of the day, if you want to win a championship and you want to be one of the best teams in the country, you have to be willing to put in that effort,” Mattera said. “Sometimes you have to sacrifice things like sleep ... or go outside and do that extra shooting or study for that exam until 2 a.m. instead of finishing in the morning. You just have to sacrifice a lot of things to be able to do the best.”
That mentality has paid off for Mattera, as she’s established herself as one of the best players in Hofstra women’s lacrosse history. In her first four years with the Pride, she has 122 points to her name and ranks No. 2 in program history in draw controls with 182 and 10th all-time in scoring with 104 goals.
But, while Mattera says she enjoys the personal accolades, the midfielder is always thinking big-picture and is most interested in creating a winning culture on the team for generations to come.
“It's awesome to be able to create this culture and set the standard for what this program has,” she said. “We've set a standard and I think as the years go on this program is just going to grow into something way bigger.”
For Mattera, establishing that winning culture and having all eyes on her as a captain took some getting used to.
“You have to be doing your best at all times and that's something that I had to grow into. You have to know that during practice, if you're going to go 50%, then so are your teammates because they're all looking to you,” she said. “You have to be willing to go 100% at all times; you can't really take your foot off that gas pedal.”
But as successful as Mattera has been at Hofstra, she almost did not play lacrosse in college at all. Growing up, basketball was her true love. She was even an All-State player in high school.
“[It] was kind of unique for me to be able to go play [Division I] lacrosse when everyone thought I was going to go play basketball because I loved it so much,” she said. “It was something I always was doing. If you saw me, I was probably in the gym shooting hoops, not playing lacrosse.”
As she made the transition from focusing on basketball to lacrosse, some of the athletic skills necessary for both sports eased the way.
“I think I was able to develop such skills in lacrosse because they're kind of similar in a way with dodging abilities and dribbling a basketball,” Mattera said. “Playing basketball helped create and pave a path for my lacrosse career.”
Even with the decision to trade the court for the field full time, basketball has always stuck with Mattera. Her favorite athlete of all time is Michael Jordan. She watches motivational videos of Jordan before games and wears the number 23 on her jersey to give her confidence while playing.
Another consistent pregame ritual for Mattera is prayer.
“My faith is super important to me,” she said. “It plays such a big role in who I am.”
Early on in her collegiate career, she joined the Fellowship of Christian Athletes (FCA), a weekly gathering of Hofstra’s Christian athletes to discuss religion, sports and the connection between the two. FCA has provided her an opportunity to not only express her faith, but to meet fellow athletes as well, including ones she might never have gotten the opportunity to know otherwise.
“It's all athletes of every different sport ... and this group helps bring us together as one. It's pretty awesome,” Mattera said.
In both lacrosse and life, she believes she is a part of something much bigger than herself.
“I go [into games] knowing that I'm playing for God's glory, not just for myself,” Mattera said. “It's bigger than just myself. It's for God that I do what I do.”
Every game, Mattera wears a hair tie that reads, “My Game His Glory.”
That mentality of being a part of something bigger carries over onto the field, into the locker room and around campus as she plays for not just herself and God, but for her teammates and best friends as well. While scoring goals and winning games is exciting, Mattera’s favorite part of lacrosse is the family she’s gained from it.
“Everyone – your teammates, your coaches – they just become that second family for you. You always have a place where you fit in and you can call home,” she said. “And I think that is just so powerful for [the] future ... [knowing] that these people will always be your best friends.”
As she returns to the Pride for a fifth year, Mattera’s post-Hofstra future is unclear. She may use her master’s degree to pursue teaching or may continue to coach: She already coaches a ninth-grade team at Long Island Top Guns, a premier girl’s lacrosse club. Maybe she will do both.
But one thing is for certain for the captain who had her senior season stripped away so quickly: She will make the most of this next year.
“It's really just not taking anything for granted,” Mattera said. “Play every game as if it is your last.”
Photo courtesy of Hofstra Athletics
