By Alana Pelosi

Pride fans would love to see their team do well in the big dance. Somewhere in their prayers that message was taken a little too literally and it got the dance team a bunch of trophies. Unfortunately, they don’t sell baseball caps for that.

In most sports NCAA titles go to the large Division 1, powerhouse teams. The teams that have fans flocking to Modell’s to purchase hats and sweatshirts and season after season are household names.

Now that the CAA basketball tournament and subsequently, March Madness looms upon us, the Lion’s Den and basketball fans alike are praying for a CAA title and chance to go to the “dance.” Could the Pride beat UNC Wilmington on Friday, Old Dominion on Saturday, win on Sunday and win the CAA tournament on Monday. I believe it is possible. After all, the team has beaten VCU, Old Dominion and Northeastern. The only team ranked higher than the Pride that they lost to was George Mason. So is a CAA title possible? Yes. An NCAA title? No way. Nope.

To cut to the chase, the only chance the Pride has to win a national title as a team sport in this decade in lacrosse. They very well may have an individual titleholder in wrestling this season, but the buck stops there. Allow me the chance to explain why.

Most fans are familiar with the Cinderella story of George Mason during the 2005-2006 season. Bitter, they watched as the conference rival made it to Final Four and defeated defending National Champions, UNC and powerhouse, UConn. Some diehards still spit at the ground and mutter, “that should have been us,” but there is no saying the Pride would have had the same success. The men’s basketball team is a very, very talented one. While Mason fans celebrated their trip to the Final Four, it only was a trip. Florida won the national title. The same squad that won the title the following year, from the same school that won the football NCAA title as well.

Then there’s baseball. It’s a rough season to follow, but when the college World Series going on, its always pretty cool to follow. First, the Pride would need to start winning. Hopefully, coach Anderson can turn things around, but its his first season so, no pressure. The next key ingredient-and this is a big one- the team would literally have to detach themselves from the school for a few months and relocate to California. Maybe Florida or Arizona. My point being that the baseball team inherently has a cross to bear; they are from the Northeast. Athletic teams from the Mid-Atlantic/New England region generally excel in more cold weather sports. Like hockey. To bad we don’t have one of those.

Hofstra’s football team is very well respected and has produced great talent; most notably are Wayne Chrebet and Marques Colston. Head coach Dave Cohen earned a national title while at Delaware, so who is to say he can’t earn one here. However, it is a D-1AA team, so unless that changes, it isn’t even an argument.

Then there’s lacrosse. The men’s lacrosse team is usually ranked in the top 20 and always puts up a fight against the best teams in the nation. For example, their win over Johns Hopkins last season. Later on they lost to Hopkins in the opening round of the NCAA tournament, but the team is fully capable of making it back this season. They have a lot a returning players including CAA Rookie of the Year, Jay Card, senior Mike Collelouri and other talent in Dan Stein and Danny Orlando as well. Even if the Pride doesn’t win this season, they still will always have some of the best players in the country. Just as colleges in California have an edge in baseball, Hofstra has that edge in lacrosse. It’s Long Island. Lacrosse is as Long Island as blowouts and Billy Joel. Hofstra is backyard to one of the best recruiting bases in the country and attract some of the most talented coaches as well. When you mention Hofstra to a baseball or soccer fan, there first reaction won’t be, “oh, they’re sick!” However, during a good year, that is a possibility for lacrosse. While the lacrosse team might not be regarded in the same manner as Syracuse, Duke or Hopkins, they can compete with those teams.

While wrestling is not about to win a title either, they have great talent and a great coach. There is always a chance that Lou Ruggirello and Alton Lucas could even upset for individual titles this season.

One should not overlook the women’s teams, either. While their games don’t have the same national following, the teams work just hard. The softball team collects CAA titles like it’s nobody’s business, but like baseball they are from the northeast. The women’s soccer team played amazing this year and came so close to going to the dance, but then Northeastern had something to say about it. Again, women’s athletics best-shot maybe lacrosse. They had a rough season last year, but they always are contenders in the CAA, which happens to be one of the best conferences in women’s lacrosse. Granted, Northwestern is a league of its own having won the last four titles, there is hope for one day.

Fans do not despair. This weekend is a huge one for Hofstra sports. Come Saturday, when the lacrosse team takes on Hopkins one can get a glimpse into just how good they are. While I stand by my claims, come Monday men’s basketball could be on its way to the NCAA tournament.