What at first didn’t look like a back-and-forth affair became one that came down to the wire.

Grace Langella assisted Arianna Esposito with 16:10 left in the first half, giving Hofstra an early four-goal lead over Saint Joseph’s. The Hawks quickly responded, scoring four of the next five.

What ensued from there was the textbook definition of back-and-forth. It was Langella who later gave Hofstra a 10-9 lead with 8:31 remaining that would prove to be the final. Neither team held an advantage of more than one goal in the second half.

Senior Alyssa Parrella scored three goals, tied for the team lead with Langella. Parrella entered play needing just six goals to break the CAA’s career goals record of 221, set by Loyola’s Stacey Morlang from 1999-02. Parrella will get another chance on Saturday against UConn.

Down 6-5 at halftime, the Hawks came out strong in the second half. Sam McGee scored to tie the score at 6, then after Langella scored off an assist by Katie Whelan to put Hofstra back ahead, Penny Green and McGee scored in a span of less than two minutes for an 8-7 Saint Joseph’s advantage.

Parrella then scored twice, giving the Pride a 9-8 lead, before Stephanie Kelly assisted Sophia Kolkka, who tied the score at 9.

After Langella’s goal gave Hofstra the lead with 8:31 remaining, both defenses held firm. Saint Joseph’s just one shot in the rest of the game, a shot by Bonnie Yu that went wide left with 4:50 to go.

Sam Cristodero, Alexa Mattera and Darcie Smith each caused two turnovers, and Jess Smith made five saves, four of which came in the second half.

Jenner’s Big Day Fuels Duke

It’s Maddie Jenner’s world, and William & Mary is just living in it.

The junior controlled 16 draws and tied for the team high with four goals as No. 15 Duke toppled W&M 24-8 Wednesday afternoon, moving to 2-0.

It was welcome performance after struggling to put away Davidson in the season opener, a 16-11 victory. Against W&M, 12 players scored, and eight players scored at least two goals. Katie Cronin also scored four goals, and Caroline DeBellis led Duke with two goals and three assists.

Sophomore Sarah Cipolla scored a career-high four goals for W&M in its season opener.

Duke led 12-7 at halftime but turned it on in the second half. The Blue Devils poured in 12 of the second half’s 13 goals, including the first 10 goals of the period.

Nike/US Lacrosse Top 20

No. 15 Duke 24, William & Mary 8

Other Scores

Coastal Caroline 17, Radford 3
Hofstra 10, Saint Joseph’s 9
VCU 20, Longwood 8