Hempstead, NY - After defeating its first ranked opponent of the 2010 season on Saturday, the Hofstra Women's Lacrosse team returns to action on Wednesday when they travel east to face Stony Brook at 4 p.m.
The Pride also entered the top 20 for the first time this season as Hofstra was #19 in this week's Intercollegiate Women's Lacrosse Coaches Association (IWLCA) Division I poll, released late Monday night.
On Saturday, Hofstra rallied to defeat #20 Rutgers, 10-9, in double overtime to capture its first win over a ranked team in 2010. The winning tally came off the stick of freshman midfielder Jill Maier, who notched her third goal of the season off a pass from senior midfielder K'Leigh Vanaman with 2:06 to play in the second extra session.
Maier, who tallied three goals, one assist, three draw controls and one ground ball in the Pride's two games last week, earned WomensLax.com Rookie of the Week honors for her strong play against #20 Rutgers and #4 Penn. It marked the first award of Maier's young career. She added another award on Tuesday as the Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) garnered her with Rookie of the Week honors.
Hofstra leads the all-time series with Stony Brook, 4-1, after capturing a 15-7 win in Hempstead last season.
Leading the way for the Pride this season has been senior midfielder Corrine Gandolfi. The seventh All-American in program history, Gandolfi hasn't skipped a beat in 2010 as she currently leads Hofstra in every statistical category. The CAA Player of the Week on March 2, Gandolfi has 16 goals, five assists, 21 points, 26 draw controls, 16 ground balls and 12 caused turnovers.
Hofstra has three other players with at least points to join Gandolfi in forming a potent scoring machine. Vanaman is second with 13 points (nine goals, four assists), while senior attack Courtney O'Connor has 12 points (10 goals, two assists) and junior attack Stephanie Rice has notched ten goals this year.
Stony Brook enters Wednesday's tilt with a 2-4 record after recording a 12-6 win over Massachusetts on Saturday.
After the game against the Seawolves, Hofstra will return home to James M. Shuart for its final non-conference home game as the Pride will host Oregon on Monday, March 22 at 4 p.m.
