Alyssa Parrella, Hofstra's all-time leading goal scorer, ups her total to 204 in win over Fairfield

Alyssa Parrella could look down at the sun-splashed turf Saturday at Shuart Stadium and see two shadows — hers and Maggie Fort’s.

Fairfield coach Laura Field had Fort face-guard Hofstra’s shining star at attack almost the entire game. 

“She’s just a really talented player,” Field said. “Our tactic was just to kind of take her out of the game as best we could with one of our fast freshmen.”

But eight players ended up scoring at least once for the Pride in a 17-13 win. Grace Langella came through five times, and Parrella still managed to throw three more goals on her ever-growing pile.

“I think this is the type of game that when (the face-guarding) does happen, it’s really important for our team to step up,” Parrella said, “because now on film other teams have to be ready that there are other goal scorers on the team.”

Still, there has never been a goal scorer — or point producer — like Parrella in the 45-year varsity history of Hofstra’s women’s lacrosse. The 5-4 senior from Miller Place recently hit a huge milestone — 200 goals. She now has 15 goals and one assist in the Pride’s 3-1 start, extending her program records to 204 goals and 277 points.

“She’s a lethal goal scorer,” Hofstra coach Shannon Smith said. “She’s got the quickest first step I’ve ever seen, the quickest first step I’ve ever coached and that I probably ever played with. She’s got tremendous speed.”

No. 200 came on No. 7 of her career-high eight in Tuesday’s 15-8 win at Wagner. That made her the lone active Division I player with 200.

The magic mark came as news to her, though. It was junior midfielder Arianna Esposito, her longtime teammate and friend from Miller Place, who knew the score.

“Alyssa, that was your 200th goal,” Esposito told her. 

“And I was like, ‘Wow, that’s crazy,’ ” Parrella said. “I literally had no idea. And then Shannon gave me the game ball, which said, ‘200’ on it.”

Smith can relate. She scored a state-record 505 goals for West Babylon High, then scored 254 more for Northwestern — No. 15 on D-I’s all-time list. So Parrella is 50 behind.

“She doesn’t know this, but I turned to my staff when I found out she scored her 200th goal and I was like, ‘I think she may bypass me by the end of the season, where I am in the NCAA rankings,’ ” Smith said.

“But I think it’s pretty impressive because since her freshman year, every team that we play, in their scouting report I’m sure is to figure out how to stop No. 7.”

It was sure hard to do last season. Parrella scored 85 goals, unprecedented with this program. She claimed third-team All-America and CAA Player of the Year honors. She’s now on the watch list for the Tewaaraton Award, given to the country’s most outstanding player.

She passes a lot of credit to Smith.

“She knows what it takes to have these achievements and how to get there,” Parrella said.

After excelling in gymnastics when she was young, Parrella stood out in lacrosse and field hockey at Miller Place High. But lacrosse ran in the family.

Her brother, Nick, played at SUNY Plattsburgh. Her sister, Tiana, began at Albany and ended at Hofstra where she was All-CAA at attack. The sisters were teammates when Tiana was a senior and Alyssa was a freshman. Since then, the younger Parrella has been collecting records. 

“Just the idea of having that Hofstra logo on yourself and being a Pride member is just huge,” Parrella said. “I just love to represent that the best way I can and just push myself to my limits.”

Smith also likes her good nature, saying, “She’ll do anything for anyone.”  

Esposito calls the tri-captain her “role model.”

“I would say something special about Alyssa is that her actions speak louder than words,” Esposito said, “because she is not the most verbal, but she is when we need to be. But her presence on the field — she creates so much energy through her play because she is just working so hard that everyone is motivated off of her.”

Parrella can find motivation in the dream ending — winning the CAA (after losing in the 2019 final) and making the NCAA Tournament.

“It would be amazing,” Parrella said. “As a freshman, I kind of always thought, ‘Oh, I have four years to have this opportunity to make it and get to the CAA tournament and win it and go to the NCAA Tournament. I’m looking at it now and I’m like, ‘This is my last chance.’ … This team is something really special. So if there’s a team I want to spend this moment with, it’s them."