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 women's lacrosse vs. James Madison in-game blog

The Hofstra women’s lacrosse team will look to knock off the Colonial Athletic Association’s (CAA) leading team when it hosts 12th-ranked James Madison on Sunday afternoon.

Hofstra (5-9, 1-4 in CAA) snapped a four-game losing streak to start league play Friday night with a 16-7 win over George Mason. James Madison (11-3, 5-1 in CAA) is coming off a dramatic 9-8 win at Drexel in which Casey Ancarrow scored the winning goal with just seven seconds remaining. The Dukes are coached by Shelley Klaes-Bawcombe, who was the head coach at Hofstra from 2002-2006.

Sunday’s game against James Madison will Senior Day. The six Pride seniors who will be honored before the game are Alexandra Hannon, Maddie Hannon, Katie Hertsch, Bettina Mianulli, Stephanie Rice and Jennalee Trombley.

Check in with "Inside the Pride" for live updates of the Hofstra-James Madison game 15 minutes before the opening draw Sunday at 12:45 p.m. Comments and questions are also welcome and encouraged during the live in-game blog.

Hofstra Women's Lacrosse Finds Itself in Unfamiliar Territory

After dropping two tough Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) games to Delaware and Towson this past weekend to open the conference slate, the Hofstra women’s lacrosse team finds itself in some unchartered waters and will need to dig deep in order to be apart of postseason play come May.

Not since Hofstra’s first season of CAA play in 2002 have the Pride began conference play 0-2. In that year Hofstra actually began 0-3 in the conference but still managed to qualify for the then six-team CAA Tournament, where it fell to James Madison 13-4 in the quarterfinals. The CAA women’s lacrosse tournament now only consists of four teams however and at 0-2 the Pride will have very little room for error in its final five conference games.

Hofstra women's lacrosse vs. Towson in-game blog

After a heartbreaking 7-6 loss at Delaware Friday night in its Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) opener, the Hofstra women’s lacrosse team will be looking to even its conference record when it faces Towson in a critical game for both teams on Sunday afternoon at Shuart Stadium.

Sunday’s Hofstra-Towson game will be a rematch of last year’s CAA semifinals where the Pride came away with a 9-8 win. Towson dropped its last CAA game to Drexel 7-5 and is 7-3 on the season and 1-1 in conference play. The game will be crucial for both team’s chances of making the four-team CAA Tournament in May.

Check in with "Inside the Pride" for live updates of the Hofstra-Towson game 15 minutes before the opening draw Sunday at 12:45 p.m. Comments and questions are also welcome and encouraged during the live in-game blog.

Freshman Attacker Already Stepping Up Big For Hofstra Women's Lacrosse

 Courtesy Hofstra Athletic Communications

Hofstra freshman woman’s lacrosse attacker Lindsay McKinnon has not been playing like someone who is still adjusting to the collegiate level.

The Fairport, N.Y native, who is only a year removed from earning high school All-American honors, has registered seven points in the Hofstra’s last two victories over Notre Dame and Fairfield to help give the Pride (4-5) momentum heading into Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) play. None of McKinnon’s points was any bigger than her free position goal with 7.8 seconds left against the 17th-ranked Fighting Irish that propelled Hofstra to a come-from-behind 9-8 win over a team the Pride had lost three games to by a combined four goals from 2008-2010. McKinnon’s heroics against Notre Dame earned her CAA Rookie of the Week accolades.

Hofstra women's lacrosse vs. Notre Dame in-game blog

After three straight years of close heartbreaking defeats to Notre Dame, the Hofstra women’s lacrosse team will have another chance to finally break through the Fighting Irish hex this Sunday at Noon.

Hofstra (3-5) is seeking its second straight win after defeating Fairfield 15-6 last Saturday. Seventeenth-ranked Notre Dame  (3-4) enters Shuart Stadium  after dropping a tough 6-5 double overtime game to Cornell.  In three games against Notre Dame from 2008-2010, the Pride lost each of them by a combined four goals.

Check in with "Inside the Pride" for live updates of the Hofstra-Notre Dame game 15 minutes before the opening draw Sunday at 11:45 a.m. Comments and questions are also welcome and encouraged during the live in-game blog.

Hofstra women's lacrosse vs. Fairfield in-game blog

The Hofstra women’s lacrosse team will try and get back on the winning track in a home game against Fairfield Saturday afternoon.

Hofstra (2-5) has dropped four in a row including a heartbreaking 10-9 double-overtime loss at Rutgers last Saturday. The Pride have been led offensively by sophomore midfielder Jill Maier with 18 goals. A bright spot on defense has been sophomore goalie Jackie Pandolf, who has 83 saves in the Pride’s first seven games.

Fairfield (5-2) is coming off a come-from-behind 13-12 win at Lehigh in which the Stags rallied from an 11-6 second half deficit. Fairfield also gave 10th-ranked and future Hofstra opponent James Madison quite the scare in a narrow 13-10 loss on March 5.

Check in with "Inside the Pride" for live updates of the Hofstra-Fairfield game 15 minutes before the opening draw Saturday at 11:45 a.m. Comments and questions are also welcome and encouraged during the live in-game blog.

Jackie Pandolf stepping up to the cage as Hofstra women's lacrosse starting goalie

Courtesy Hofstra Athletic Communications

The healthy competition Hofstra women’s lacrosse goalie Jackie Pandolf faced for playing time last year with senior Mary Cuddidy is paying major dividends so far in 2011 for the junior netminder.

Pandolf stepped up huge for the Pride in Sunday’s dramatic 11-10 overtime win at Oregon with a career high 13 saves including two key stops in the extra session. The Sachem North High School product was also stellar in Hofstra’s season-opening 14-9 loss to 19th-ranked Boston College with 11 saves on 39 shots along with recording a team-high six ground balls.

After sharing playing time last year with Cuddihy, Hofstra women’s lacrosse head coach Abby Morgan was impressed with how Pandolf worked extra hard in the offseason to improve all facets of her play including clears and being a more vocal leader on defense. “Pandolf has fortified herself as a starter,” said Morgan just prior to the start of the 2011 season. “She really solidified her game.”

Last season while Cuddihy started 12 of the Pride’s 15 games, Pandolf still received plenty of time in the cage and posted a 8.26 goals against average with 56 saves. The Holbrook, N.Y. native also received solid preparation for her current starting role as a freshman in 2009 when she recorded 16 saves in 10 games.

Pandolf will try and continue her hot play to open the 2011 season when the Pride next take the field at home against Denver on Friday at 4 p.m.

Hofstra women's lacrosse vs. Boston College in-game blog

The 20th-ranked Hofstra women’s lacrosse team opens a challenging 2011 schedule in its season opener late Wednesday afternoon against 19th-ranked Boston College.

Wednesday’s opener with the Eagles is one of 10 games Hofstra has scheduled this season against teams either ranked or receiving votes in the preseason top 20 poll.

The Pride lost six of its top nine scorers, including two-time All-American Corrine Gandolfi, from last year’s team that went 12-6 and fell in the Colonial Athletic Association title game to James Madison. Hofstra still returns plenty of senior talent however on the defensive end led by Kate Hertsch, who was selected to play on the U.S. Senior National Team, and on offense with Stephanie Rice, who scored 23 goals last year. Sophomore midfielder Jill Maier also showed she has the capability to be an offensive force scoring 22 goals during her freshman campaign.

Wednesday’s opener against Boston College will be Hofstra’s first against the Eagles since suffering an 8-7 double overtime loss in 2005. Boston College finished last year 3-12 but is expected to be much stronger in 2011 as evidenced by their preseason ranking of 19.

Check in with "Inside the Pride" for live updates of the Hofstra women’s lacrosse season opener 15 minutes before the first draw Wednesday at 3:45 p.m. Comments and questions are also welcome and encouraged during the live in-game blog.

Hofstra women's lacrosse uses last year's disappointment as fuel for 2011 season

 Courtesy Hofstra Athletic Communications

As the Hofstra women’s lacrosse teams gears up for a new season, last year's disappointment of several close losses to ranked teams that all made the NCAA Tournament, which the Pride missed out on, still lingers and is serving as a key motivator for the 2011 campaign.

The 2010 NCAA Tournament bracket is plastered on the Pride’a locker room as a reminder of the team’s ultimate goal. Circled on the paper are all the tournament teams Hofstra lost close games to including (Penn, Notre Dame, Stanford and Towson). Hofstra finished 2010 12-6 with a 10-6 loss to James Madison in the Colonial Athletic Association title game and head coach Abby Morgan believes a win in any of the Pride’ many heart-breaking losses to ranked teams could have made the difference in her team reaching the NCAA Tournament as an at-large selection.

“They don’t forget it,” said Morgan, whose team returns four starters and is ranked 20th to open the season “We talk about it giving us fuel.”

Hofstra will have plenty of opportunities register signature wins against quality teams starting with this Wednesday’s opener against 19th ranked Boston College. In all Hofstra has 10 games scheduled against teams either ranked or receiving votes in the preseason top 20 poll including home contests versus Notre Dame, Penn, James Madison and Towson. 

Hofstra women's lacrosse holds fundraiser for program featuring numerous youth teams

The Hofstra women’s lacrosse team hosted its second of two 2010 fall festivals this past Halloween weekend featuring numerous youth girls lacrosse teams from the New York City region who picked up their sticks to raise money for the Pride program.

For the last decade the Hofstra women’s lacrosse program has been holding fall festivals as fundraisers featuring seven-on-seven games of players from both youth and high schools teams from throughout the metropolitan area. The participation fees paid by each player for the festivals, which this year were held on the weekends of Sept. 18 and 19 and Oct. 30 and 31, goes to benefit the Hofstra women’s lacrosse program. Hofstra women’s lacrosse head coach Abby Morgan said for each weekend festival there are about 600 players who participate.

“It is really great because everyone just has a great time,” said Hofstra women’s lacrosse head coach Abby Morgan. “It is always a great event.”

Pride women’s lacrosse players took part in officiating the many games that were held on Hofstra's north campus intramural fields. Hofstra players also held a clinics as part of the festivities.

Morgan said in addition to raising money for her program the fall festivals are also a great chance to expose Hofstra to some of the area’s top players, which can prove to be advantageous when it comes to recruiting. Each player who participated in the fall festivals received a Hofstra women’s lacrosse t-shirt.

“It is great to have the local high schools on campus and the club teams and they all get to see what Hofstra is all about,” said Morgan. “It is good exposure for us as a school.”

Hofstra lacrosse teams continue to honor Nick Colleluori through fall events

 Courtesy Hofstra Athletic Communications

The Hofstra women's lacrosse team with the Colleluori family.

The Hofstra men’s and women’s lacrosse teams continued their efforts of keeping the memory of the late Nick Colleluori alive in two separate fall events that raised more than a quarter million dollars for blood cancer research.

The fourth annual Nick Colleluori Classic at Ridley High School in suburban Philadelphia, which featured 20 men’s lacrosse teams including Hofstra, is estimated to have raised around $250,000. The second annual Nick Colleluori Women’s Lacrosse Classic held on Sept. 25 at Hofstra raised over $42,000. Both of these charity events are aimed at raising money for blood cancer research and to keep alive the memory alive of Colleluori, a former Hofstra men’s lacrosse defenseman who passed away from non-Hodgkin's lymphoma on Nov. 28, 2006 at the age of 21 after a courageous 14-month battle with the disease.

“It is great for our players to see what they can do and how lacrosse can change things outside of just the lacrosse world,” said Hofstra women’s lacrosse head coach Abby Morgan.

Longtime Hofstra athletics administrator Cindy Lewis proud to see growth of women's sports since her playing days

 Courtesy Hofstra Athletic Communications
In the mid to late 1970’s when Hofstra’s Senior Associate Director of Athletics Cindy Lewis played field hockey and lacrosse at Berner High School in Massapequa, N.Y. and then for Hofstra, the climate of female sports was a very different story from where it is today. Lewis’s playing career came in the midst of America’s groundbreaking Title IX legislation being implemented, to ensure that female athletes had the same opportunities as their male counterparts, and the longtime Hofstra athletics administrator recalls how slow a process this was.

Today Lewis is happy to see that female athletics is thriving at Hofstra and throughout the country, and that the early days of Title IX’s implementation are becoming more and more distant. On Sept. 20 Lewis was honored at the 22nd annual Hofstra Pride Golf Classic and Auction for her 30 years of dedicated service to Hofstra’s athletics program, which has included helping to position the  women’s sports programs to be able to compete at the highest level. The golf classic is Hofstra’s signature fundraising event for the university’s athletics department, and this year in honor of Lewis the proceeds were used to benefit the school’s Women’s Athletic Fund. 

Hofstra women's lacrosse gearing up for CAA Tournament

One of Hofstra women’s lacrosse head coach Abby Morgan’s chief goals for the 2010 season was to qualify her team for the Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) Tournament, something the Pride just missed out on the last two years after winning the conference title in 2007. That mission has been accomplished and now attention has turned to making the NCAA Tournament by winning the CAAs next week.

Sixteen ranked Hofstra (11-5, 5-2 in CAA) will be the three seed and be matched up against eighth ranked Towson on Thursday May 6 at 7:30 p.m. on the campus of James Madison University in Harrisonburg, Va. A win by Hofstra Thursday would send the Pride to the CAA title game  on Saturday May 8 against either seventh ranked James Madison or William & Mary with an automatic bid into the NCAA Tournament at stake.

Hofstra women's lacrosse stays focused in blowout over Delaware

Since the Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) season began in early April Hofstra women’s lacrosse head coach Abby Morgan has preached the importance of never looking ahead. On Friday afternoon that one game at a time focus was evident as despite playing a Delaware team with a losing record two days before facing 10th ranked Towson, the Pride showed no signs of overconfidence during a dominating 15-6 win.

Sixteenth ranked Hofstra (10-4, 4-1 in CAA) had nine different scorers and dominated from the get-go against Delaware (5-10, 2-4 in CAA) not allowing a goal for the first 18:13 of the game. The win keeps Hofstra near the top of the CAA standings heading into Sunday’s critical road game at Towson.

“It is a good confidence boost, for us” said Morgan, whose team was coming off a 14-8 road loss to James Madison last Sunday. “Our attack found their flow, found their groove together and that is something we have been talking about all week.”

Corrine Gandolfi helps bring Hofstra women's lacrosse to high level

Courtesy Hofstra Athletic Communications 

Up until Corrine Gandolfi’s senior year at Northport High School she had visions of playing college basketball but soon realized that lacrosse was her best option at excelling at the highest level of collegiate competition. If Gandolfi had pursued basketball in college it would have most likely been at a Division II school but thanks to her decision to concentrate on lacrosse Hofstra’s senior tri-captain midfielder is playing at the highest level of the sport and is hoping to lead the 17th ranked Pride to the NCAA Tournament.
 
"Lacrosse just had a lot more opportunities for me so I chose that road," said Gandolfi. “I wouldn’t change it for anything else."
 
Hofstra women’s lacrosse head coach Abby Morgan is sure happy at Gandolfi’s decision four years ago as the Northport High School product has been an offensive force since arriving in Hempstead for the 2007 season when she earned All-Colonial Athletic Association accolades and led the Pride to its last conference title and NCAA Tournament berth. After a sophomore year plagued by a knee injury that limited some of her offensive production, Gandolfi exploded as a junior with 45 goals, which earned her First team All-CAA honors and an invite to play for United States Developmental Team.

Hofstra women's lacrosse dominates Old Dominion

A major key to the 16th ranked Hofstra women’s lacrosse team’s success in 2010 has been draw controls with the Pride fifth in the nation at grabbing these crucial possessions entering Sunday’s game against Old Dominion. Hofstra’s success on draws continued against the Monarchs with the Pride dominating this key statistical category 20-6 in a 16-8 home win to improve to 7-3 and 2-0 in the Colonial Athletic Association (CAA).

Part of Hofstra’s success in being able to gaining processions after goals has been the versatility of being able to deploy multiple players to take draws depending on matchups. Against Old Dominion Hofstra had 10 players win draw controls led by senior attacker Corrine Gandolfi with six.  Morgan credits Hofstra’s success in this category to her assistant coach Tanya Kotowicz, who as a player at Connecticut was second on the Huskies in draw controls during her senior year in 2005.

“She has taught these girls, 'OK this setup against this draw, this is what you do, this is where you put the people on the outside,” said Morgan of Kotowicz. “She is awesome at it.”

Hofstra women's lacrosse wins CAA opener over William & Mary

Hofstra women’s lacrosse head coach Abby Morgan made a game time decision in the Pride’s Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) opener Friday night to start senior Mary Cuddihy in net over sophomore Jackie Pandolf. The move paid major dividends as Cuddihy recorded seven saves in the first half and nine for the game to help 16th ranked Hofstra (7-3, 1-0 in CAA) build a comfortable lead in route to a 15-7 win over 19th ranked William & Mary (6-5, 0-1 in CAA).

Cuddihy gave up a goal on William & Mary’s first shot 29 seconds into the game but went on to stonewall the Tribe for the next 32:74. “She played really well,” said Morgan.

Despite Cuddihy’s solid play in net Friday night Morgan is not set to name the Manhasset High School product her starter for the CAA season and will continue the competitive goalie battle that has existed thus far in 2010. “We’ll see how [Cuddihy] does tomorrow in practice,” said Morgan. “That is how day to day it is.”

Hofstra women's lacrosse team staying focused after 6-2 start

The Hofstra women’s lacrosse is heading into its final non-conference game at Stanford this Wednesday 6-2 but despite the solid start which has included wins at Cornell and a triumph over then 19th ranked Rutgers, head coach Abby Morgan is not allowing herself to be satisfied.

“I do feel like we’re continuing to improve and we’re moving upwards… but you can’t get to a point where you’re OK, you can’t get to a point where you’re satisfied,” said Morgan. “As soon as you rest on your laurels a little bit you’re going to get beat.”

Hofstra’s two early season losses came by one goal to then eighth ranked Notre Dame 13-12 and fourth ranked Penn 7-6. Had Hofstra pulled off one of those games the Pride would be in prime position for an at large berth to the NCAA playoffs. If Hofstra can win at Stanford this Wednesday the Pride would be back in position for an at-large should it not be able to capture the Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) title, but Morgan is not allowing her team to think about playoff possibilities as conference season nears.

Hofstra women's lacrosse posts blowout over St. Mary's (Calif.) in tuneup for Notre Dame

         Despite having a highly anticipated matchup against eighth ranked Notre Dame this Tuesday the Hofstra women’s lacrosse team showed no signs of looking ahead to the Fighting Irish in its opening game Saturday against St. Mary’s (Calif.). After falling behind 2-0 the Pride scored 19 straight goals in route to a 21-3 win that head coach Abby Morgan hopes gets her team adequately prepared for a stiff test in just three days.
         When the Hofstra-Notre Dame game was initially conceived on the schedule the Fighting Irish wanted to make it as the Pride’s opener but Morgan made sure her team would at least have one game under their belt before taking on a top 10 program. Morgan is hopeful that Saturday’s St. Mary’s game, which featured 11 different Hofstra scorers, combined with scrimmages against Brown and Dartmouth last weekend will give the Pride the needed preparation to pull off an upset win against the Irish.
        “I think that we’re a little bit more prepared for playing Notre Dame,” said Morgan of how important it was to schedule two scrimmages and one game prior to Tuesday’s big showdown. “It is nice to have that confidence going in.”