By Ed Morrone
To be the best, they say you first have to beat the best. Consider that mission very much accomplished for the Hofstra men’s lacrosse team.
Regardless of the fact that Pride head coach Seth Tierney called it “just another win,” Saturday’s victory over top-ranked defending national champion Johns Hopkins was anything but.
To classify the thrilling 8-7 overtime win in a rain-drenched Shuart Stadium as just another game would be selling short the achievements of the program since Tierney took over in August 2006.
The now second-year head coach inherited a lacrosse program that was at a definite crossroads. After a 2006 season that saw Hofstra go 17-2 and ascend up to No. 2 in the national rankings, the Pride seemingly lost its identity.
Let’s review. After the greatest lacrosse season in the school’s history ended in an 11-10 overtime loss to UMass in the NCAA Tournament Quarterfinals, John Danowski, the only coach Hofstra had ever known, left Hempstead to help resurrect a wounded Duke program left scarred by false rape allegations. If that wasn’t enough, Hofstra also lost two of the most prolific scorers in program history (Athan Iannucci and Chris Unterstein) as well as a senior-laden defensive unit led by All-American Brett Moyer.
In the year that followed, rookie coach Tierney arrived on campus and surveyed what pieces remained: a young but promising unit whose most experienced offensive player was attacker Tom Dooley, a sophomore at the time. On top of that, the program was simultaneously dealing with the loss of former player Nick Colleluori, who died in November 2006 after a bout with non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma.
The season that followed saw Hofstra lose seven games by one goal, missing the postseason in the process-a lot to deal with for a program trying to land back on its feet.
“We’ve talked a lot about how nothing matters in the past,” said Tierney, who was flanked by seven of his players in Saturday’s postgame news conference. “We can’t go back in time, but what we can do is control the now and the future. And the future is bright.”
It’s hard to argue with that statement after what took place on Saturday. To sum it up, the Pride jumped on top of the high-flying Blue Jays right away, taking a 6-3 lead after one. Hofstra continued to control the ball possession in the second quarter but couldn’t add any more goals, dangerously allowing Hopkins to hang around.
The Blue Jays responded by owning the third quarter, tying the score at six. After Pride sophomore Dan Stein put his team up 7-6 early in the fourth, Hopkins responded again by evening the score with 1:15 left in regulation. Instead of folding, the determined Pride responded by winning the overtime faceoff, and freshman attack Jay Card ultimately tallied the winner with 1:51 left in the first overtime.
“This win for us is huge,” said Card, who scored four goals in his third collegiate game. “It just proves we can do anything. We play through everything, and it doesn’t matter if we’re down one goal, two goals, three goals…we never give up.”
But Hofstra’s staying power as a national lacrosse titan wasn’t cemented with the triumph over the No. 1 team in the land. Sure, that definitely helped, but what really told the story was the coach and players’ all-business attitude in the moments following the monumental victory.
“It’s a big win for our program, but we have to play again next week,” Tierney said. “We’re going to have to cut this one loose soon.”
Added junior midfielder Anthony Muscarella, who assisted on Card’s game-winner: “Beating Hopkins now doesn’t win us a national championship, which is our ultimate goal. We have to keep plugging away.”
Under Tierney’s guidance, this still-youthful team seems to have a firm grasp on what it is capable of attaining. After all those one-goal losses, the Pride is taking nothing for granted, treating each win and loss with the same goal: digest the outcome, learn from it, and move onto the next game. The loss of Colleluori as well as the Duke scandal have proven that time is something these players don’t have much of, making that national championship trophy even more desirable.
While Hofstra isn’t there just yet, it is safe to say that Saturday’s first ever win over a top-ranked opponent represents a colossal leap forward. And even if Tierney chooses not to say so, it was much more than “just another win.”
“Hofstra University and its men’s lacrosse team accomplished a great thing today,” Tierney said. “And make no mistake about it, I am extremely proud of these