Hofstra women's lacrosse suffers first loss of the season

The Hofstra University women’s lacrosse team suffered a tough loss on the road as they fell to the No. 15 University of Southern California Trojans 15-6 on Saturday, Feb. 17. The Pride fell behind early in the game, allowing the Trojans to cruise toward an easy victory.

Hofstra’s six goals came from five different goal scorers. Nikki Mennella was the only member of the Pride to score multiple goals, while Taylor Mennella, Megan Flannery, Julia Harris and Lauren Lam each netted one. When it came to assists, Melissa Sconone led the Pride with two, while Lam, Kate Fiola and Kristen Redding each had one.

For the Trojans, their offensive explosion was spearheaded by three separate players scoring three or more goals each. Shelby Tilton netted four, while Maggie Brown and Maddie Dora each scored three. Ella Heaney and Claudia Shevitz each scored two for USC, and Sloane Murphy scored one. The assist leader for the Trojans was Isabelle Vitale who had four assists. The only other Trojan with assists was Heaney who had two.

Luchianna Cardello got the start in net for the Pride and played the first 44 minutes of the game. There, Cardello made nine saves and allowed 10 goals. Cardello was relieved midway through the third period by Casey Phelps. Phelps struggled, however, only making one save of the six shots she faced.

In net for the Trojans to start was Kait Devir, who allowed four goals on six shots. Devir played the first 45 minutes of the match and was the winning goaltender. With 15 minutes remaining in the game, Devir was relieved by Mia Fleming who allowed two goals on three shots.

This was a much different contest between the two teams than the game they played in March of 2023. The Pride’s previous game against USC, which was played at Hofstra, was tied after four quarters and was decided in sudden death overtime. However, during the 2024 game, the Pride couldn’t find their stride and were outplayed from the first face-off to the final horn.

The Pride will play their next game at home against the Fairfield University Stags on Saturday, Feb. 24, at James M. Shuart Stadium at noon.

Photo courtesy of Hofstra Athletics