By Max Sass and Joe Pantorno, Sports Editor and Staff Writer
LAST SEASON : 11-4 overall, 6-0 in CAA play
Lost in first round of CAA tournament to Villanova 7-9
Lost in first round of NCAA tournament to Cornell 8-11
Coach – Seth Tierney
Tierney is entering his fourth year at the helm of the Pride and has reached the NCAA tournament twice and won the CAA title once since arriving. Tierney is the nephew of legendary Princeton coach Bill Tierney, who is now with Denver University.
Tierney has won 27 games over his three years as head coach. Last season, Tierney led the Pride to an 11-4 season, including a perfect 6-0 conference record.
Star Player – Jay Card – Junior Attack
Coming off of a 44-point season (35 G, 9 A), junior attackman Jay Card is ready to take the NCAA by storm. Entering the 2010 season with a 15-game point scoring streak, Card was the most clutch player on the team with seven game winning goals. The 2010 selection for the All-CAA preseason team by Face-Off Yearbook, Card is viewed by head coach Seth Tierney as one of his go to guys.
“He is a little bit of the heartbeat of our offense; there is no getting around it,” said Tierney. “It’s going to be awfully exciting watching him grow until he graduates.”
Leading the CAA in goals per game average (2.33) and ranked third in points per game average (2.93), Card is leading an attack that includes junior Jamie Lincoln and sophomore Kevin Ford. This attacking core will be sure to give defenders nationwide fits for the next few seasons.
Impact Newcomer – Jamie Lincoln – Junior Attack
Lincoln and fellow Ontario native Card are looking to create one of Hofstra’s greatest duos ever as the “Ontario Onslaught” look to wreak havoc on the NCAA. The transfer from Denver University had his problems with the Pioneers, but Tierney is excited to give Lincoln a fresh start.
“He has practiced hard, he has done everything we have asked of him, he has had no off the field issues thus far and we are good to go,” said Tierney
As a freshman, Lincoln gained All-American honorable mention by Lax Power with 52 points (48 G, 4 A) and is looking to pick up where he left off at the end of his freshman year after his early exit from DU. Tierney though, thinks the Pioneers made a mistake in letting Lincoln go.
“I don’t see what Denver told me in this Jamie Lincoln,” Tierney said. “Jamie has a very high lacrosse IQ. One of his areas of expertise is putting the ball in the goal.”
X – Factor – Andrew Gvozden, Sophomore/ Rob Bellairs , Freshman – Goalie
Last year’s starter, sophomore Andrew Gvozden finished twentieth in the nation in save percentage (56%) and eighteenth in the nation in goals against average (8.38 per game), but is facing competition from freshman Rob Bellairs for the starting job. “We don’t know who the starter is going to be,” said Tierney, “that is how good Rob is.”
“I am in a very good [and] bad situation,” said Tierney. “We have two very good goalies. That is the good situation. The bad situation is I don’t know who the starter is and it is game week.” Tierney must decide on a starter before Saturday’s matchup against the nation’s eighth ranked team, the Princeton Tigers.
Whoever is in goal, will be forced to mature very quickly or in Gvozden’s case, continue to mature quickly. The Pride play an extremely difficult schedule and if the goalie can hold the opponent under eight goals per game he will give Hofstra a great chance to win games in the NCAA tournament.
Key Games:
Saturday, February 27 at Princeton
“It is going to be a war, there is no getting around it.” Tierney put it very plainly, and he is correct in assuming that his team’s season opening matchup against number eight Princeton will set the tone for the season.
Princeton used to be coached by Bill Tierney, Seth’s uncle, until Bill left the Tigers this offseason for the University of Denver. Replacing Tierney is former Drexel coach Chris Bates.
Princeton is led by attackman Jack McBride who scored 35 goals last season. “With their roster on paper, they are very and on the field they could be even better,” said Tierney, and “they have one of the more talented goalies in the country.”
In order to start the season off with a victory the Pride must be clicking on all cylinders as they head to New Jersey. “We are going to have to play very smart and in order for us to do so, we are going to have to have a great week of practice,” said Tierney.
Saturday, March 13 vs Johns Hopkins
Johns Hopkins comes into the season ranked sixth in the nation according to Inside Lacrosse. “That is going to be a battle too,” said Tierney. Tierney graduated from JHU in 1991 and previously coached there.
Chris Bolan, Kyle Wharton and Michael Kimmel all had over 45 points last season for the Blue Jays. JHU is backed by goalie Mike Gvozden, the older brother of Hofstra’s Andrew Gvozden. The younger Gvozden posted better stats than his brother last season. Mike had a save percentage of 50 and gave up 10.19 goals per game.
Johns Hopkins will test the Pride’s defense, but if they can withstand this rigorous test, the schedule gets significantly easier after.
QUOTE IT:
“We are going to have to strap on our sneakers a little bit tighter and buckle our helmet a little bit tighter and go out there and play as smart and hard as we can.”
-Head Coach Seth Tierney on how the team will attack its challenging schedule
Coach Seth Tierney and the men’s lacrosse team are poised to win the CAA for the second time under his reign. (Sean M. Gates/ The Chronicle)
