Maddie Fields’ 15 saves help Hofstra defeat Columbia

Hofstra had held all three of its opponents to 10 goals or fewer during its three-game winning streak. On Saturday night, the opposing offense was more daunting than the Pride’s previous foes, but thanks to a strong performance from Maddie Fields, the result was the same.

Fields made 15 saves to lead visiting Hofstra to a 10-8 win over Columbia in a non-conference women’s lacrosse game. The hosts came into the game ranked 42nd nationally in goals per game (12.2) but converted on less than 25 percent of their shots on Saturday.

“Maddie Fields played a phenomenal game and she’s the reason we won,” Pride coach Shannon Smith said. “She was standing on her head and doing spins in there. She did an unbelievable job and I’m really, really proud of her.”

Hofstra (6-3), which doubled its win total from last season with the victory, also got a boost at the other end of the field from Becky Conto (three goals) and Drew Shapiro (four goals and an assist).

The Pride got off to a fast start, as Conto and Shapiro scored within the first five minutes of the game. After Columbia got on the board a minute later, Hofstra responded with a 3-0 run. Shapiro scored just inside the 22-minute mark and again with 19:32 left in the half, before Conto scored about eight minutes later.

Columbia (5-5), whose offense was stifled for much of the first half, scored a pair of quick goals to cut its deficit to 5-3 with under nine minutes left in the period. Alexa Mattera answered after receiving a nice pass from Alyssa Parrella and finishing inside to make it 6-3 with 5:36 left.

“Defensively we played well,” Smith said. “We were moving quickly and gave up poor angle shots . . . I thought we did really well on the defensive side of the field.”

In the second half, the Pride wasted little time before finding the back of the net again, when a nice finish from Mattera extended the lead to 7-3 just over a minute into the half. Columbia netted its fourth two minutes later, but Hofstra regained a comfortable lead after Conto and Shapiro scored at the 22:08 and 19:45 marks, respectively.

The Lions scored again to cut Hofstra’s lead to 9-5 but Lexi Lenaghan scored for the Pride to restore the advantage.

Columbia made a late push, scoring with 3:05 left and adding two more goals in the final minute of the game, but Fields and Hofstra were able to hang on and secure the win.

Parrella had three assists for the Pride, boosting her team-high points total to 45.

“You definitely get confidence with the winning streak,” Smith said. “We have some things that we need to clean up but it was really nice to get that last non-conference win before we get into conference play.”