By Doug Bonjour

As the Hofstra men’s lacrosse team made the short trek to Philadelphia last Saturday to battle a red-hot Drexel team, the Pride were in search of redemption. The team had sputtered since their stunning win against Johns Hopkins on March 8, leaving the team to wonder how the momentum they gained had escaped them so quickly. The Pride had lost two of their last three contests, with the last of those coming at home against Army; a loss which Hofstra Head Coach Seth Tierney called “embarrassing.”

However, even though the Pride found themselves on a bump in the road, the contest against Colonial Athletic Conference rival Drexel presented a new opportunity. Hofstra sat 1-0 in conference play, and a win over the 11th-ranked Dragons would go a long way in starting CAA play off strong.

But even though Hofstra was able to move on from a last-second loss to Army and Saturday was a new day, the Pride produced the same painful result in heartbreaking fashion. A dominating first-half performance had the Pride ahead 7-2 at halftime, but Tierney again watched his team self-destruct in the second half, as the Pride were defeated 9-8 in double-overtime.

Tierney could not have asked anything more from his team in the first 30 minutes of action, as Hofstra crafted one of their top offensive streaks of the season. The Pride outshot Drexel 18-15 and only committed two turnovers compared to eight for the Dragons. On the defensive side of the field, the Pride did a solid job stopping their opponent’s offensive attack. After allowing two goals in the first quarter, Hofstra goaltender Danny Orlando was flawless in the second quarter, stopping all three shots he faced. In all, the Pride outscored their CAA counterpart 5-0 in the second quarter, as they raced into halftime with a lead that seemed comfortable at the time.

But as the Pride stepped back onto the field for the second half bursting with confidence, their lead began to dissolve. In just over nine minutes, Hofstra’s commanding lead was gone, and less than two minutes after Drexel tied the game 7-7, Drexel senior attackman Andrew Chapman sneaked a shot past Hofstra sophomore goaltender Danny Orlando to give Drexel the lead. All was crumbling for a Hofstra team that once appeared as though it would bounce back from a loss. The third quarter proved to be an offensive explosion for Drexel, as they outscored the Pride 6-0 and outshot them 13-3.

Even with Drexel dominating the third quarter, the Pride fought back in the fourth. With 12:01 remaining in the contest, Hofstra’s Jay Card tied the game 8-8 with his third goal of the contest. It was another solid performance for the freshman attackman, who is tied for the team lead in goals with 10.

After Card’s game-tying tally, both teams traded scoring opportunities but neither was able to find the back of the net. As a result, the game headed into sudden-death overtime. It was the second time the Pride found themselves playing in the extra session and first since their upset of Johns Hopkins.

In the first overtime, the teams again traded punches but neither was able to capitalize. Drexel outshot Hofstra 3-2, with each goalie making key saves. These key saves propelled the game into a second overtime, but this time, there was no denying Drexel. With just 2:41 left in the extra session, Chapman burned the Pride again, as he fought his way into the Hofstra crease and slipped a shot past Orlando for the game-winner. The goal capped off a solid performance for Chapman, who scored four goals.

Drexel finished the contest with a 36-30 advantage in shots and they won the face-off battle 18-4. The loss dropped the Pride to 3-4 (1-1 CAA) on the season and catapulted Drexel up to 8-2 (1-0).

The Pride will again try to bounce back on Saturday, as they will host CAA opponent Sacred Heart at 1 p.m,