Parrella poised to add ‘champion’ to her everlasting legacy
Since her rise to stardom freshman year, Alyssa Parrella has become royalty in the Colonial Athletic Association (CAA). Throughout her five years with the Hofstra women’s lacrosse program, Parrella has emerged as the Colonial Queen, amassing a career that the CAA has never seen before.
“The first time I saw Alyssa play [I was] thoroughly impressed with her overall athleticism, speed and her tenacity on the field,” said Hofstra head coach Shannon Smith. “I knew that she could be a player that could be one of the best to ever play, and we really wanted to get her to Hofstra.”
For Parrella, the decision to come to Hofstra was a perfect fit for not only her playing style, but also for being close to home.
“I’m such a homebody. I like to be close to home, so coming to Hofstra gave me the opportunity to still be close to home, and I just loved the campus when I came here. I also played for Shannon [Smith] when I played for travel,” Parrella said. “I always got along with Shannon and I looked up to her and felt she was such a great coach so it was really exciting to be able to play for her when I got to college.”
Throughout her five-year reign at Hofstra, Parrella has accumulated 257 goals and 345 points, ranking her as the all-time leader in career goals and points in both Hofstra and CAA history. Her 88 assists and 189 draw controls rank second and third, respectively, all-time in Hofstra history.
“It really says to me that all the hard work that I’ve put in from the beginning has really paid off,” Parrella said. “All of the records are amazing and I don’t think it will really hit me about how much I’ve been able to accomplish until probably I leave Hofstra and it’s all over with.”
“It just brings so much recognition to Hofstra University and the Hofstra athletic department. Alyssa is not only going to be the best player out of the Hofstra women’s lacrosse program but she’s the best player ever in the CAA history,” Smith said.
Even with all of the accomplishments and records to her name, Parrella’s resume is not complete. Now, Parrella and the Pride have their minds set on winning the CAA title.
“My main focus right now [is] to win a conference championship with this team,” Parrella said. “It’s the reason why I came back for my fifth year.”
After the 2020 season was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Parrella, along with Alexa Mattera and Darcie Smith, all announced their return to the Pride this season after being granted an extra year of eligibility by the NCAA.
“I always joke around and say I don’t know what my decision would have been if they hadn’t come back too,” Parrella said. “They’re my left-hand and right-hand man, literally with Alexa being a lefty and Darcie being righty. It’s really cool to have this opportunity to play with them. We’ve been by each other’s sides since the beginning.”
This season, the three have marched the Pride back into the CAA Tournament, where Parrella, Mattera and Darcie Smith look to give it their all.
“We just want to be able to give our team everything we can and leave everything that we have out on the field,” Parrella said.
Hofstra enters the tournament as the No. 4 seed after going 6-5 on the season (2-2 CAA). Hofstra has won three of the last four games and ride a two-game win streak after back-to-back wins over Towson University. The stretch also includes a win over James Madison University, who the Pride lost to in the 2019 CAA championship game.
“Anyone who has played in conference play or especially in the CAA knows once we get to this point in the season, it is a bloodbath,” Parrella said. “It becomes a totally different game and a totally different animal so I think it’s really important for us to set a standard for ourselves, but still keep set on one game at a time.”
Since freshman year, Parrella has been at the forefront leading the Pride. Now, she wants to teach the underclassmen and give them as much tournament experience before they take over next season.
“This year I’ve been trying my best to kind of just help lead the freshmen and [help them become] comfortable on the field,” Parrella said. “It’s also really important for them to just enjoy every moment and have fun out there because the time does go really, really fast. It’s going to be the best years of their life so I’m really excited for them.”
Since freshman year, Parrella has been working on becoming more and more of a vocal leader for the Pride and now has them ready to take on whatever lies ahead.
“It’s just been incredible to watch the growth of her leadership and now she’s like a second coach on the field,” Smith said. “Whether it’s in huddles at practice or during the game or on film session she’s a second coach out there. She’s always wanting to help her teammates and giving them feedback and giving them tools to allow them to grow.”
A large part of Parrella’s success has come from the help of Smith, who continually is setting higher goals for Parrella to help evolve her game year after year. This season, Parrella has 41 goals and moved to 12th all-time in NCAA history with her 257 goals. During the Pride’s regular season finale against Towson, Parrella surpassed Smith in the career goals mark. She now sits 16th all-time with 254 goals.
“Whether it’s on the field or off the field, I can always go to Shannon for everything and anything. She has taught me so much,” Parrella said. “I looked up to her as a player and coach. She is absolutely amazing and she gives everything she can to her players. Anything you need to do or learn, she’ll help you with it. I’m just really happy I was able to play for her for these five years.”
Leading Hofstra one last time, Parrella and the Pride know what it’s like to make it to the tournament. Last time in the 2019 CAA Tournament, the Pride squared off against Towson in the semifinals, a game that Parrella will never forget.
“The semifinals my junior year when we beat Towson – that was an incredible game. And also to the dramatics of having to wait a couple hours for a rain delay and just being in that locker room and having to stay hyped up,” Parrella said. “It was the first time we’ve gotten that far in the conference tournament. That was the first time I was able to be there and it was such a great memory. I’m really happy to be beat them that year.”
This time around, Parrella wants the Pride to come out on top, a feat Hofstra hasn’t accomplished since 2007.
“It’s really important for us to play our best lacrosse at this point in the season,” Parrella said. “There’s really no room for mistakes at this point, so just being able to make sure that [at]our practices we’re going as hard as we can in order to have the best games we can moving forward.”
With the games winding down in her Hofstra career, Parrella is ready for what’s next. Although the future is uncertain for Parrella, if an opportunity arises to play lacrosse, she is ready for it.
“It’s kind of weird to think about not having any sports in general. I’ve been playing lacrosse for so long, but even just not having any type of sports moving forward is kind of crazy to me. I’m pretty open to anything that may come about in the future so I’m excited to see what happens,” Parrella said. “If there’s any chance to play lacrosse in any sort of way, I’m really open to do it.”
As Parrella prepares to pass the crown down to the next group, her legacy is forever engraved in the Hofstra and CAA record books. Her impact on Hofstra lacrosse will serve as the model of excellence and what future athletes will strive for.
“I think that they’re going to look back at the legacy that she left here with her leadership, her work ethic and the impact that she made on her teammates around her, but also the legacy in terms of how she left the program,” Smith said. “She put Hofstra back in the national ranking and she put Hofstra at the top of the CAA and she’s made a huge mark in our program. There’s going to be players that are going to want to come here to be an Alyssa and I think that’s incredible.”
Photo Courtesy of Jacob Lewis/The Hofstra Chronicle
