Tribe Lacrosse Comes Up Short at Hofstra, 10-8

Junior Emily Vitrano Scores Three Goals in Defeat

04/14/06 7:45PM

Hempstead, N.Y. - Hofstra freshman Lauren Whitcomb scored a team-high three goals, and Kim Hillier added three points to lead the Pride past No. 13 William and Mary, 10-8, Friday afternoon in Colonial Athletic Association women’s lacrosse action.

Emily Vitrano (Cockeysville, Md./Maryvale) paced W&M (8-4, 3-2 CAA) with three goals, and Morgan Lang (Westfield, N.J./Westfield) and Laura Lindsay (Bryn Mawr, Pa./Radnor) each scored a pair. La Nolan (Ruxton, Md./Maryvale) had a pair of assists, and Debby Petracca (Manhasset, N.Y./Sacred Heart) recorded 10 saves in the loss.

Hofstra (6-6, 3-2) won its third straight overall and snapped a two-game losing streak in the series, putting the Pride square in the middle of the conference postseason picture in a third-place tie with W&M, pending the outcome of tonight’s George Ma-son-Delaware contest.

W&M got off to a promising start, jumping out to a 3-0 lead, while Petracca continued her recent solid play with three saves in the opening 15 minutes. Jaime Fitzgerald (Jenkintown, Pa./Jenkintown) opened the scoring on a free-position goal 6:59 into the contest, and after a draw control by Colleen Dalon Moorestown, N.J./Moorestown), Vitrano netted her first at the 22:47 mark. The Tribe attack continued to pressure after the reset, as Anne Harrington (Alexandria, Va./Mount Vernon) corralled one her two draw controls, and just 50 seconds later, off a feed from Nolan, Vitrano beat Pride goalkeeper Maisie Osteen again to increase the lead to 3-0.

The Tribe held a 9-2 advantage in draw controls in the first half and a 14-6 edge overall, but Hofstra committed only four turn-overs in the opening period and two lightening-quick goals by Casey McGrath and Hillier pulled the Pride right back into the contest with 10:55 remaining in the first.

After a draw control by Kristen Wong (Richmond, Va.), though, Lindsay found the net off another Nolan assist at the 9:24 mark to push the Tribe lead to 4-2. Wong led the squad with five ground balls and three caused turnovers and added another draw control.

Whitcomb answered with her first just over a minute later, before Lang got on the board with an unassisted goal at the 5:10 mark that once again gave W&M a two-goal advantage. Vitrano picked up one of her four draw controls on the reset, but after three Tribe shots sailed wide, Hofstra regained possession and scored twice in the final four minutes to send the teams to the break even at 5-5.

Lindsay put the Tribe back on top just 1:34 into the second period on a free-position shot, but Hofstra used a 3-0 scoring run over the next 12 minutes to take an 8-6 lead. Whitcomb scored twice during the run, including her third of the game with 15:57 remaining that gave the Pride a two-goal cushion.

Lang quickly put an end to the scoring spurt with another unassisted tally at the 15:09 mark, but Heather Albro answered for Hofstra less than two minutes later to once again extend the lead to two, 9-7. After a groundball pick-up by Fitzgerald in the attack zone, the Tribe had a couple good looks, including Fitzgerald’s shot that bounced off the post. Vitrano collected a ground ball off another missed Tribe shot and eventually sent her third home with 4:39 remaining to trim the deficit to 9-8. It was Vitrano’s fourth-straight game with at least three goals.

W&M gained possession of a Hofstra turnover in the final three minutes, but Vitrano missed high on a shot, and Osteen turned away another attempt by the junior in the final two minutes, before Hillier set the final margin on her second goal with just five seconds remaining.

Nolan added three ground balls, and Fitzgerald and sophomore Lauren Coll (Phoenixville, Pa./Carroll) each had two.

Box Score

W&M Goals: Vitrano 3, Lindsay 2, Lang 2, Fitzgerald.
W&M Assists: Nolan 2
L – Petracca (4-2)