Hempstead, NY - Behind a balanced offense and another stellar defensive performance, Hofstra earned its third straight win by defeating visiting UAlbany, 11-7, on a brisk Saturday afternoon from James M. Shuart Stadium. The Pride moves to 4-1 on the year, while UAlbany drops to 1-3 following today's loss.

Katie Whelan led Hofstra with four points on two goals and two assists, while Erin Demek and Arianna Esposito totaled three points on two goals and an assist, and Grace Langella found the back of the net twice. Shannon Boyle pulled down seven draw controls, and Jess Smith made eight saves on the Great Danes.

The Great Danes led 2-1 after the first seven minutes in the opening quarter, but Demek scored two free-position goals at 7:28 and 3:12 to give Hofstra a 3-2 lead. Esposito added to the lead with a goal at 11:17, and she assisted Whelan with 1:49 on the clock in the second quarter. A UAlbany goal with five seconds left on the clock set the score at 5-3 in favor of the Pride heading into halftime.

Hofstra continued to push the pace with the first three goals of the third quarter. Langella finished off a pass from Katie Kelly at 13:07, while Whelan scored her second goal of the day minutes later, and Taylor Mennella rippled the twine at 8:37, before UAlbany scored the final goal of the quarter to make it an 8-4 scoreline.

Mennella scored her second, but UAlbany responded with back-to-back goals to cut Hofstra's lead to three with 10:17 still to play. The teams would exchange goals within a minute of each other at 6:58 by Hofstra's Esposito and 6:10 by UAlbany's Katie Pascale, but Langella's second goal at 4:19 and a stout Hofstra defense put any thoughts of a comeback win for the Great Danes to rest.

Pascale led UAlbany with three goals and an assist for four points, and Sarah Falk finished with a goal and an assist for the Great Danes. Katherine Chiarella took the loss with 13 saves.

The Pride returns to action on Tuesday, March 8, at 3 p.m. against Wagner from James M. Shuart Stadium. The game will be aired live on FloLive.

NOTES:
-Hofstra's all-time record against UAlbany improves to 4-3.
-Hofstra has held its last three opponents to under 10 goals.
-The Pride was a perfect 18-18 on clears.
-Jackie Gatti, Kerry Walser, Erin Tierney, Camryn Faith and Anna Kaufmann each caused one Great Dane turnover.