By Richard Adragna

When a change is made and someone new comes on board with high expectations set onto him or her, it is apparent that he or she has their work cut out for them. In other words, nothing is really easy for the new guy.

The same can be said about Danny Orlando, a goalie who is not only one of the newest faces on the Hofstra men’s lacrosse team’s starting line-up. Orlando also happens to be a freshman, enjoying the starting role in this his very first year in college. Orlando replaces Matt Southard, who, like many other starters from last year’s squad, was lost to graduation. Orlando, like so many first-time starters, knows the challenges it brings.

“It’s crazy, it’s a great feeling,” Orlando said. “At first it was nerve-racking because I used to sit on the couch and watch these guys on TV and thought how awesome it all was. Now I am playing on the field and part of a team. Still, as nerve-racking as it is, just going out on that field makes it a good feeling for me.”

Last year, the Pride were a team that relied on a high-powered offense to win each game, and parlayed that success into a 17-2 record and a trip to the NCAA Tournament. This year, however, things are different, and not just because of the new starters. John Danowski, who made what happened last season possible, left to resurrect a Duke team from the ashes of scandal and controversy. Seth Tierney, his former assistant at Hofstra, left Johns Hopkins after six years to replace him this past August. To make matters worse, all but one of their starters from last year, including 14 seniors, graduated, making the offense young and inexperienced, and the defense to be relied heavily on more than they were last year. Even with a freshman as his goalie, Tierney looks at more than that.

“Danny has done a very good job so far,” he said. “He has a great demeanor and is talented. Still, he has to continue with what he is doing. He has to know his role and his skills have to grow, so I expect everything out of him.

“I did not come here with an agenda. My rule is simple: the best players play. Danny has definitely earned his job. We have two sophomore goalies on our team as well. Even though they are not happy about it, they understood what I was stressing to this team.”

Even though he earned the starting job at goalie despite being only a freshman, Orlando quickly learned that it was not a guarantee for getting out of chores that veteran players hand to freshman like him.

“I still do not get a pass on everything,” he said. “I still do all the freshman stuff. I carry all the balls, get the water, and all that. It doesn’t matter, though, I’m not bothered by it.”

The sight of a young offense can show concern for Pride fans, and it shows on the scoreboard. The Pride are 1-2 so far in this season and have scored less than 10 goals in all of these games. Danny, though, doesn’t see this as a sign of worry and has confidence in Coach Tierney, even though it wasn’t evident the moment he replaced Coach Danowski.

“Coach Danowski recruited me back then, but when Tierney came in, I didn’t know what to expect from him,” he said. “Now, I have a great deal of respect for Coach Tierney and so do the players.

“I only came in this year, but I know that there were a bunch of great players on that team. Two players on offense were in the running for the Tewaaraton Trophy, which is the lacrosse equivalent for the Heisman. These players graduated and now we have a young offense. Still, they’re running smoothly and we can hope for the best.”

Coach Tierney and Hofstra will be hoping for the best when they face Princeton on Saturday. Like the Pride, the Tigers started off strong but have since been struggling in their last two games. Therefore, both teams are looking to get back on track and hope that the luck of the Irish be on their side this Saint Patrick’s Day. The Pride will hope for another strong performance from the young Orlando.

“He’s been doing well,” said Tierney. “He’s been stopping the shots that he should stop; he’s been doing everything we’ve been asking him to do. If the defense can pull together and do well, we can win a lot of games.”