Hempstead, NY – With the regular season winding down in less than two weeks, the Hofstra Women's Lacrosse team has a pair of important games this week as they look to jockey for Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) Championship seeding.
Hofstra (8-6, 2-2 CAA) currently sits in fifth place in the conference standings heading into games this week against Towson (7-7, 5-0 CAA) and Delaware (9-5, 3-2 CAA). The top four teams in the standings at the conclusion of the regular season will qualify for the CAA Tournament, which will be held on May 3 and 5 at the site of the regular season champion.
Unlike the first two weekends of conference play, this weekend will see the Pride play one home game before heading on the road to finish the week.
On Friday night at 7 p.m., the CAA-leading Tigers visit James M. Shuart Stadium in Hofstra's first and only night home game this season.
In addition, the Towson game will serve as Hofstra's “Power in Pink" game. The first 100 fans in attendance at the game will receive a pink t-shirt and all fans are encouraged to wear pink in support of breast cancer awareness.
Entrance to Friday's game is free of charge.
The week will conclude on Sunday when the Pride visits Newark, DE to take on Delaware at 1 p.m. The Blue Hens are currently in the fourth slot in the standings with a 9-5 overall record and a conference mark of 3-2.
Hofstra concludes the regular season on Saturday, April 27 when it hosts Drexel at 4 p.m. as part of a doubleheader with the Hofstra men's lacrosse team, which hosts Penn State at 7 p.m.
Hofstra split its two games last week, falling in triple overtime to James Madison on Friday by the score of 9-8 before easily defeating George Mason, 18-7, on Sunday. The game against the Dukes marked the longest in the history of the Hofstra Women's Lacrosse program and the 18 goals scored against the Patriots was the most by Hofstra since scoring 23 against George Mason in 2012.
Junior attack Julia Riemer led Hofstra with four points on three goals and one assist against James Madison, while several players had career games against George Mason.
Senior attack Taylor Albright had a career-best five points (3 G, 2A), freshman attack/midfielder Becky Conto poured in a game and career-high four goals and sophomore attack Brittain Altomare tied her career-high with seven points on two goals and five assists.
Sophomore goalie Kelsey Gregerson had six saves, while sophomore defender April Iannetta posted four ground balls, five draw controls and four caused turnovers.
Altomare's seven points against the Patriots gave her a team-high 56 this season. Altomare's special season is beginning to make inroads in the Hofstra record books as her 28 assists ranks third all-time in a single season and her 56 points is nearing the top ten for a single season.
In addition, career-wise Altomare's 44 assists is 10th all-time following her five-assist showing on Sunday.
Towson has won six straight heading into Friday's encounter and is coming off a weekend sweep of William & Mary (15-5) and Old Dominion (16-9). Rhiannon Coogle leads the Tigers with 40 points on 38 goals and two assists, while Ashleigh Rohrback has 15 goals and a team-high 18 assists for 33 points.
Delaware also won both games over the weekend earning wins over Old Dominion (8-7) and William & Mary (15-2). Three players clearly lead the Blue Hens as Caitlin McCartney has 42 points on 38 goals and four assists, Allison Hahn has 39 points on 24 goals and 15 assists and Chelsea Fay is third with 38 points on 35 goals and three assists.
