By Ryan McCord
The Hofstra men’s lacrosse team hit the road on Tuesday night looking to tie the school record winning-streak mark at 13, obtain Long Island lacrosse bragging rights and slam the door shut on No. 19 Stony Brook’s six-game winning streak.
Check, check and check.
The nation’s No. 2 ranked Pride not only spanked Stony Brook 18-8, but got what they hoped was their first taste of victory at Kenneth P. LaValle Stadium in 2006, which is site of the NCAA Tournament quarterfinals on May 20.
Athan Iannucci, the nation’s leading goal-scorer with 41 heading into the game, managed to net 6 more scores, bringing the junior attack man within four of Tom Kessler’s single season record of 51 set in 2001, with one more regular season game left to play.
“He’s a function of us playing well on offense, being unselfish,” Pride head coach John Danowski said. “He does a great job of getting open. Terrific shooter, terrific athlete and he is becoming what we thought he could become.”
Iannucci made things look easy in the second half, even impressing one Fox Sports New York television announcer, who exclaimed, “Even [New Jersey Devils goaltender] Marty Brodeur himself could not stop Iannucci in front of the net with the way he’s shooting tonight!”
Senior attack man Chris Unterstein brought his team-leading point total to 61 with two goals and three assists, while John Keysor billed a hat-trick and Tommy Dooley chipped in with three assists of his own to help pace the Pride offense, which ran circles around the Seawolves in the second half.
“We just feel that if they aren’t beating us in the first half that we have an edge because we are in such great shape,” said Pride senior Tim Treubig, who scored a pair of goals himself. “Last year we weren’t that good in the second half, and that’s something we wanted to make an improvement on and we have. Confidence adds to it. Last year if we were down we figured we’d lose the game.”
Senior face off specialist Joe Mascaretti continued his outstanding efforts by picking up seven ground balls on 18 of 30 attempts, while John Orsen, Ryan Lucas, Anthony Muscarella and Bill Peters all made significant contributions.
“Guys are playing their role, more people are playing then ever, we’re playing more freshmen and those guys are stepping up,” said Danowski, who tied his highest single season winning total at Hofstra with the victory. “All things are pointing in the right direction.”
Besides outscoring the Seawolves by 10 goals, the Pride dominated in the final shooting total by a 46-26 margin while winning the ground ball total, 39-27.
“A good, tough, physical game against an opponent who played hard. I give Stony Brook a lot of credit, they did a nice job of riding us early,” Danowski said. “We had a few turnovers early but you’re never going to play perfect.”
With the loss, Stony Brook dropped to 8-5 and ended any hopes it had of making the NCAA tournament. Meanwhile, the Pride looks forward to finishing out its dream regular season on Saturday night at Shuart Stadium on Senior Night against a Harvard team fighting for its own NCAA lives.
Seniors Unterstein, Keysor, Orsen, Lucas, Mascaretti, Treubig, Matthew Southard, Brett Moyer, Sean McCarthy, John Gorman, Peter Kaspar, Rob Bonaguro and Brian Crichlow will all be honored before the game in recognition of their fine careers as student-athletes at Hofstra.
“We’re excited because it’s alumni night and we want to show them that we’re the real deal,” Treubig said. “We are definitely ready. A lot of people still doubt us and are waiting for us to lose. We’re ready to show the nation that we’re for real.”
