By Stacey Troiano
For the first time in 21 seasons, the new-look men’s lacrosse team started its fall action this weekend in a tournament at Molloy College with a new face manning the sidelines. Seth Tierney took over as head coach this summer after the departure of long-time coach John Danowski, now the head coach at Duke University.
Tierney, 37, played four years of lacrosse at Johns Hopkins University, where he majored in sociology. After graduating, he played three seasons for the New York Saints, an indoor lacrosse team, and went on to be an assistant coach there for two years.
Tierney was also an assistant coach at Hofstra for five years under Danowski, and he returns to the Pride after a six-year stint as associate head coach at Johns Hopkins.
“Coach Danowski has accomplished so many great things, and I am honored that [athletic director] Jack Hayes and the administration chose me to fill the shoes of someone who has been a legacy in the Hofstra lacrosse program,” Tierney said.
Tierney got off to a good start in his first day of competition as head coach in Saturday’s tournament. Hofstra defeated Molloy and Rutgers and tied Duke in a game with a lot of hoopla for just a fall scrimmage.
Danowski led his Duke squad, which is coming off a year of turmoil and a cancelled season due to the now notorious rape allegations that led to the indictment of three players, into action against a Hofstra team that he coached for so long. Both teams played an even, physical game, and jitters were evident from both the players and coaches.
“I think there was nervousness on both sidelines, but Coach Danowski looks very happy where he is,” Tierney said. “The Duke program has been through an awful lot, and I wish them well. It’s important to the lacrosse world that Duke gets back on its feet.”
Overall, Tierney thought his team played well this weekend. He saw promising things on offense and defense from a team that lost a majority of last season’s starters to graduation.
“Our team is very young but very dedicated, and I think we are where we need to be right now,” sophomore midfielder Dan Miller said. “Coach Tierney is a great head coach. The players respect him and have responded very well, and we believe he can take our program to the next level,”
Tierney believes that next level is bringing that ever-elusive national championship home to Hofstra, and he has new ideas and objectives that he is looking to apply to achieve the ultimate in college lacrosse.
“There’s a lot more to winning on the field than just on the field, and that’s what I’m going to try to implement,” Tierney said. “I’m going to take what Coach Danowski built, tweak it a little so I can call it mine, and with our staff, we can run with it.”
Tierney’s goals for the season are simple: he is looking to put his stamp on this team and take it as far as it can go, which the first-time NCAA head coach said will be on a quest for a national championship that last year’s high-octane team could not capture.
“I’m very excited about this challenge. Are we young? Yes. But we are energetic and willing to learn,” Tierney said. “We’ve had a great fall so far, practices have been upbeat and we are certainly looking forward to the season.”