Hempstead, NY - Senior Alyssa Parrella had five goals, one assist, and a career-high 10 draw controls, while graduate student Alexa Mattera posted four goals and two assists for a career-high tying six points to lead the Hofstra women's lacrosse team to another strong late season win, defeating #25 Towson, 15-14, on Sunday afternoon at James M. Shuart Stadium. 

Parrella fed freshman Kerry Walser for the game-winner with 40 seconds left as the Pride picked up its third win in its last four games. The victory was Hofstra's third this season against a ranked (IWLCA) opponent. It is their most ranked wins in a season since the 2010 squad also had three ranked victories. 

The win improves Hofstra's record to 6-5 overall and 2-2 in Colonial Athletic Association play. Towson falls to 8-7 and 0-4 in league action. 

It was another one-goal contest between these league rivals with a pair of goals from Parrella giving the Pride their first two goals of the contest in the opening six minutes. Hofstra was able to take a two-goal lead twice in the opening 30 minutes as Parrella notched her 46th career hat trick to make it 5-3 at the 11:10 mark and then Mattera scored the final goal of the first half with 5:48 on the clock to make it 6-4 heading into the break. 

Hofstra quickly pushed the lead to three goals as Mattera scored an unassisted tally just over two minutes into the second half to make it 7-4. It would be the first of three separate three goal leads for the Pride in the final 30 minutes as Hofstra took an 11-8 lead following a goal from Parrella with 15:54 left and Mattera made it 12-9 at the 13:53 mark. Towson had one last run in them, though, as the Tigers used a 5-2 run to eventually knot the score at 14 with 3:11 left following a goal from Nikki Sliwak. Both teams would have opportunities in the final minutes before Hofstra put home the game winner when Parrella found a wide-open Walser cutting to the goal with 40 seconds left to play. Pride junior goalie Jess Smith would make one final huge save in the closing seconds to cement the victory. 

Senior Arianna Esposito added two goals for Hofstra, while senior Katie Whelan added a goal and an assist. Jess Smith, who posted nine saves in net, also led Hofstra with three ground balls. Senior Shannon Boyle had three ground balls and a team-high two caused turnovers. The hat trick was the 19th of Mattera's career and third this season, while it was Parrella's sixth this season in addition to her career total. 

Blair Pearre had six goals for Towson, while Kaitlin Thornton and Sliwak both posted two goals and two assists. 

Seeding and match-ups for the CAA Championship will be announced on Sunday evening by the league office. 

NOTES 
- Hofstra is now 18-25 all-time against Towson. The Pride has won three straight against the Tigers. 
- Parrella's previous career-high of nine draw controls came against Drexel on April 3, 2021. 
- Mattera previously had six points twice, most recently against Fairfield on February 23, 2019. 
- Mattera moved into a tie for seventh all-time in program history with 124 goals. She is tied with Kathleen McPike, who had 124 from 1998-2001.
- Mattera moved into the top 10 all-time at Hofstra in points as she is now ranked 10th with 151 points. She passed Rebecca Wales (149 from 1993-97) and Janet Walsh (149 from 1996-2000). 
- Parrella now has 257 career goals to rank 12th all-time in NCAA history. Her 345 points ranks 17th all-time in NCAA history. Parrella passed Hofstra Head Coach Shannon Smith in today's game as Smith had 254 goals for Northwestern from 2009-12. Smith now ranks 16th all-time in NCAA history.