By Stephen Cooney
There are two things that the Hofstra University Lions’ Den can do after receiving a knockout punch from Head Basketball Coach Tom Pecora. They can either slump into the ropes, fall down, take the 10 count, and wait for the rematch next season (which will come in the form of cheering on what will be a far better basketball team), or they can gather themselves from their daze and fire back with two counter punches that might not make Pecora happy, but will show some heart and some pride.
The Hofstra athletic programs are exposed for two huge shots from fans if students are willing to swing away. Neither one of these has anything to do with traveling to Richmond to watch the CAA basketball tournament.-sorry coach, but traveling to Richmond is probably out of the question for most students-they are happening right on campus.
The combination can start with showing up to the CAA wrestling championship at the Mack. You, know the place where you forgot to go during basketball season.
What you do not know is how entertaining the wrestling squad actually is and on top of that how truly dominating the team is in conference play.
The wrestling team cruised through their season, especially the CAA portion of the schedule. On top of that, the matches have been extremely exciting. The Pride team focuses on offensive wrestling and is always on the attack.
This makes for exciting matches and also impressive victories for the five top wrestlers of the team. These five have been more than entertaining all season by dominating their opponents in CAA competition and wrestling thrilling matches with top ranked opponents in their respective weight classes. So go ahead, wake up on Saturday stroll down to the Mack center and watch the Pride roll through the CAA on their way to the NCAA tournament.
After landing a quick shot at the wrestling championships, the Lions’ Den can process across the unused unispan at the far end of campus straight into Shuart Stadium. There you can fire a devastating blow by cheering on the men’s lacrosse team against powerhouse John’s Hopkins. Not only will this game be exciting to watch, it is one of the best lacrosse matchups taking place in NCAA lacrosse.
Both teams have the potential to do damage in their respective conferences and eventually in the NCAA tournament. The Pride is already coming off a hard-fought victory against Brown, and an added boost from a virtually nonexistent student section might just let them take this game.
Like Coach Pecora said, the student section can help sway close games. Why not make both of these home matches as hostile as possible for visiting wrestlers and lacrosse players alike. Dress in school colors, cheer as loud as you can, burn the Chronicle if it makes you feel better, just show up.
At least you can have some fun, maybe so much fun that it will spill into the rest of the spring season, last throughout the summer, into football season, and burst into basketball season next year.