Future Looks Bright for Hofstra Women's Lacrosse

After finishing an overall disappointing 2011 season on a positive note with a come-from-behind 9-8 win over Drexel Thursday afternoon, Hofstra women’s lacrosse head coach Abby Morgan expressed optimism for 2012.

A major reason for Morgan’s positive outlook is the solid production of many of her younger players late in the season. During the win over Drexel in which Hofstra rallied from a 8-5 deficit to score the final four goals, 11 of the Pride’s 13 points came from freshmen and sophomores. The win over Drexel ended Hofstra’s season at 6-10 overall and 2-5 in the Colonial Athletic Association.

“Obviously we would have loved to have seen a couple more wins on the board but the future is bright for our program in these young players,” said Morgan. "I think we have a lot to look forward to."

Hofstra will return seven of its eight leading scorers from this season including Jill Maier, who led the 2011 Pride in goals with 37. On the defensive end Hofstra will return goalie Jackie Pandolf, who delivered a stellar sophomore season with 159 saves after sharing the netminder duties as a freshman.,

“There is a lot of talent within our team next year,” said Morgan.

While Morgan is excited for her returning players next year, she is also sad to see the careers of six Pride seniors come to a close. The six Hofstra seniors who played their final collegiate game Thursday included defenders Katie Hertsch, Bettina Mianulli, Alexandra Hannon and her twin sister Maddie along with midfielders Stephanie Rice, and Jennalee Trombley. Rice was second on the Pride in goals with 23 and ended her Hofstra career by scoring the game-winning goal against Drexel.

“This senior group was a good bunch of leaders,” said Morgan. “There is going to be some holes I think in leadership [next season] but I have faith in our younger players that they are going to step up.”