Box Score

ITHACA, N.Y. -- The Hofstra women's lacrosse team rallied in the second half and pulled out a 12-10 win over Cornell on Saturday afternoon at Schoellkopf Field. The Pride improved to 3-2 with the win, while the Big Red slipped to 1-2 in dropping its home opener.

Jessi Steinberg had five goals and won a school-record eight draws, while Shannon Tierney added a goal and two assists and Libby Johnson had helpers on three goals, but a balanced Hofstra offense and a strong late effort by goalkeeper Mary Cuddihy (nine saves, two ground balls) gave the visitors the victory. The previous record for draws in a game was seven, reached by Charlotte Schmidlapp against Brown in 2007 and by Jaimee Reynolds against the Bears in 1999.

Hofstra scored the game's final four goals and six of the last seven and held the Big Red scoreless for the final 20:44 to help the Pride overcome a 9-6 deficit. Corrine Gandolfi scored two goals during the run, including the game-tying goal with 13:30 to play. K'Leigh Vanaman, who had two goals, tallied what would prove to be the game-winner with 8:53 remaining before Hofstra tacked on an insurance goal late as Cornell brought the goalkeeper out of the cage to double team.

Cornell held a 23-19 edge in shots and turned it over fewer times (14-11), but Hofstra's edge in draws (14-10) and their ability to take advantage of their free-position attempts (3-5) allowed the Pride to capture its third victory of the year.

Shannon McHugh added a pair of goals, won four ground balls and caused three turnovers in the loss, while Kristen Reese made five saves.

Gandolfi had three goals to lead the Pride attack as 10 different players scored at least one points. She added three draws and a caused turnover. Katie Hertsch had two caused turnovers, two ground balls and two draw controls in the win.

Cornell returns to action on Wednesday, March 10 when it faces Columbia in the 2010 Ivy League opener beginning at 4 p.m. at Schoellkopf Field.