By Max Sass, Editor in Chief

If the secret was not already out, it is now: Lance Yapor is a dangerous offensive player for the Hofstra Pride.

Yapor, a sophomore attack, scored four goals and added two assists as Hofstra (1-0) defeated Sacred Heart, 11-9, on Saturday afternoon at Shuart Stadium.

“He made the most of his opportunity today,” said Hofstra head coach Seth Tierney. “I don’t know how many shots he had, but he had a couple of big goals and I’m certainly proud of him.”

The opportunity came thanks to the Pride graduating its entire attack line from last season. The trio of Jay Card, Jamie Lincoln and Stephen Bentz combined for 81 goals and 42 assists last season.

Yapor did shine in one game last season, recording two goals and three assists against the University of Massachusetts.

“Lance has always had the capability of doing that,” Tierney said. “I think he gave you a little bit of a slideshow of it last year versus UMass.”

The growth, from Yapor’s perspective is due to confidence.

“The confidence level was definitely part of it,” he said. “Stepping on the field this year and stepping on the field last year are two totally different worlds.”

Like Yapor, Torin Varn is a sophomore attack trying to fill the void that graduation left. He had a good start, scoring his first goal of the season just seven seconds into the game.

That lead lasted slightly longer than it took to earn it, but the Pride soon were tied with the Pioneers (0-1) and finished the first quarter locked in a 3-3 draw.

Yapor’s first of the day and junior Aaron Jones’ second of the game was all the scoring the Pride could muster in the second quarter, and went into halftime still tied, this time at 5-5.

The third quarter was when Hofstra exploded, winning the quarter 4-1 and effectively ending the game.

“It started with John [Antonaides] at the faceoff, to go six-for-six right there,” Tierney said was the key.

The Pride picked up 10 ground balls in that third quarter to SHU’s one, and took seven more shots during the period.

Sacred Heart scored two goals to open up the final quarter and cut the lead to 9-8, but Yapor added his fourth and final tally of the game to ensure the Pride of starting the season on the winning end.

The Pride is next in action on Saturday as it heads down to Princeton to face the Tigers. Faceoff is set for 1:00 PM.

For more on this game, visit: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-1XgyBIUUaA