Poughkeepsie, NY - Graduate student
Katie Whelan had five goals, junior
Taylor Mennella tied her career-high with four goals, and senior
Jess Smith stopped a season-high 13 shots as the Hofstra women's lacrosse team used a dominant second half to eventually rout Marist, 16-9, on Friday evening at Tenney Stadium. The win was Hofstra's fifth straight. It is the program's longest win streak since a five-game streak from April 3-17, 2015.
The win improves the Pride's record to 6-1 this season, while Marist falls to 1-5. Hofstra outscored Marist, 8-2, over the final 30 minutes of the game.
Goals from Whelan and fellow graduate student
Arianna Esposito early on put the Pride up 2-0 before Marist scored four straight goals, including a pair from Kelly Trotta, to lead 4-2 with 4:25 left in the first quarter.
Trailing by two entering the second stanza, Hofstra evened up the score at five with goals from Mennella and Whelan. After the Red Foxes retook the lead at 7-6, the Pride tallied three straight goals to open up an 8-6 advantage with 3:11 left in the half following a goal from senior
Erin Demek.
Nursing a one-goal cushion at the break, the Pride were put to the test to start the third quarter as Marist evened the score at eight less than a minute in.
Hofstra would take over at that point, though, as the Pride scored the game's next eight goals to take a commanding 16-8 lead with less than seven minutes left in the contest. Mennella got it started and scored twice during the spurt, while Whelan also tallied two goals in the game-changing run.
Demek, Esposito, and sophomore
Kerry Walser each finished with two goals for the Pride in the win. Graduate student
Shannon Boyle led Hofstra with six ground balls and added her first goal of the season. Esposito also had a career-high three ground balls in the game. Her previous high of two last came against James Madison on April 14, 2019.
Trotta and Kerri Gutenberger each had three goals to lead Marist. Gabrielle Orlando made 14 saves for the Red Foxes.
Hofstra is back in action next Friday when it hosts Stony Brook at 7 p.m. That game will air on the Lax Sports Network.
NOTES
- Hofstra improved to 4-0 all-time against Marist. It was the first meeting since 2015.
- Whelan moved into seventh place all-time at Hofstra in points. She now has 178, passing Becky Thorn (177 from 2003-07).
- With her 13 saves in the game, Smith has five games this season with at least 10 saves and 23 games in her career with double-digit saves. She added a career-high six ground balls, eclipsing her previous career-best of four last achieved against Drexel on April 3, 2021.
- Mennella previously tallied four goals against Bucknell on February 15, 2020.
- Boyle scored her first goal since March 16, 2019 against High Point.
