Hofstra drops third straight contest after falling to No. 22 UConn

The Hofstra women’s lacrosse team furthered its losing streak to three games in its match against No. 22 University of Connecticut (UConn) on Saturday, March 26, at Joseph J. Morrone Stadium, falling to the Huskies 15-11.  

UConn got on the board first when attacker Kate Shaffer scored her 20th goal of the season less than two and a half minutes after the opening draw. Grace Coon followed up with a goal of her own to double the Huskies’ early lead.  

Erin Demek then took the game into her own hands for Hofstra, putting the Pride on the scoreboard with 8:41 left to play in the first quarter. This prompted an adverse response from the home team, who brought their score from a single-point lead to a three-point lead within the next five minutes. In the next minute, however, junior attacker Lauren Coletti began the process of closing that scoring gap for Hofstra, netting her first-ever goal with the Pride. Kerry Walser followed Coletti’s lead, finding the back of the net to end the first quarter with the Pride ahead 4-3.

Hofstra dominated initial draw control again but neither side could keep possession for too long to start the second quarter. The back-and-forth stalemate was broken by UConn’s sophomore attacker Susan Lafountain six and a half minutes in, reiterated by Lia LaPrise’s goal 12 seconds later.

Scoring in quick succession became a trend within a blink of an eye,  as Hofstra’s Katie Whelan  scored a clean-cut and forceful free position goal after having an uncharacteristically quiet first quarter. 48 seconds later, Walser netted her second goal of the day. Following goals by the Pride and Huskies each, Coletti scored her second goal of the day, tying the score at seven with only seven seconds left before the halftime buzzer sounded.

The third quarter yielded the least advancement for Hofstra, aside from the Pride’s draw control at the start for the third consecutive quarter and Arianna Esposito’s goal with 4:23 left on the clock. The one goal in the whole 15-minute span for the Pride was not enough to offset UConn’s three goals in the quarter, including a sudden goal by LaPrise with eight seconds left to play. UConn gained initial draw control for the first time all game to open the final quarter, and Shaffer quickly scored her fourth goal of the game, making the score 12-8 for the Huskies. Picking up the scoring mantle from Whelan, Walser closed Hofstra’s deficit to three by completing a hat trick, only for the Huskies’ Morgan Carter to stretch it back to four. Three minutes later, Coon followed Shaffer’s footsteps, scoring her fourth goal of the game. Whelan scored a seamless goal for Hofstra one minute later.

 Shaffer wrapped up scoring for the Huskies, and Walser did the same for the Pride in the final 53 seconds to close out the contest.

The Hofstra women’s lacrosse team begins conference play at home against James Madison University at James M. Shuart Stadium on Saturday, April 2, at noon.

Photo Courtesy of Hofstra Athletics