By Max Sass, Sports Editor
PHILADELPHIA,PA – Traveling to Philadelphia did not provide the Hofstra Pride men’s lacrosse team with the brotherly love it had hoped for. The Pride was 0-1 in CAA play entering the April 3 matchup with Drexel and looking to even-up its conference record.
Neither the Pride nor the Dragons led by more than two goals at any point of the game.
The Pride led early in the first 2-1 before Drexel scored three straight goals to take a 4-2 lead. The first half featured five ties and ended 7-7 after junior attack Jay Card scored a man-up goal for the Pride with 1:28 to go.
The Pride dominated the third quarter, outscoring the Dragons 3-1 in the 15-minute period to lead 10-8. The Pride forced eight Drexel turnovers in the third period and only committed three of its own.
Drexel attack Robert Church, who had seven goals in the game, opened the fourth quarter scoring to cut the lead to 10-9. “He did a good job of dodging hard and we didn’t do a good job of covering up inside,” said Hofstra head coach Seth Tierney after the game.
Hofstra would extend its lead to 11-9 on junior attack Jamie Lincoln’s third goal of the game with 10:15 to play but would not score again. Drexel attacker Colin Ambler scored with 8:52 to play and attacker Kevin Stockel scored to tie the game at 11-11 with 5:23 remaining.
The teams would play back and forth holding each other scoreless for the next four minutes. With 50 seconds to play in the game Church slipped a goal past Hofstra freshman goalie Rob Bellairs to give the Dragons a 12-11 lead.
Bellairs allowed 13 goals in the game, the most he has allowed all season. “I don’t think he played one of his better games,” Tierney said.
Freshman John Antoniades won the ensuing faceoff but with about 40 seconds left fired a shot from 15 yards out that was easily saved by Drexel goalie Mark Manos. “We told him [Antoniades] all season long that he’s got to put the ball in Card’s stick, he’s got to put the ball in Lincoln’s stick unless it’s a layup,” Tierney said.
The Pride would not regain possession and Drexel added an empty-net goal with seven seconds left in the game to come away with a 13-11 victory.
The loss to Drexel added an extra sense of urgency for the Pride who is now 0-2 in the CAA. “The three CAA games are everything right now,” Tierney said. The Pride still plays Delaware, Penn State and Towson before the CAA Tournament. “Right now, I can’t say we are fortunate enough that we are going to get those three,” Tierney said. “When you are 0-2 you are not fortunate enough to talk at all.”
The team has struggled on the road this season, losing to Princeton, UMass and Drexel while only beating St. John’s away from Shuart Stadium. “It [winning on the road] is a calmness that comes with senior leadership and right now we are struggling with that was well,” Tierney said. “We have to get it from somewhere and if we have to leapfrog some of the senior class then that is what we are going to do.”
Junior attack Jay Card walks off the field after the Pride’s 11-13 defeat in Philadelphia to Drexel University. (Sean M. Gates/ The Chronicle)
