By Kyle Kandetzki – SPORTS EDITOR
After back-to-back losses and a 1-2 mark halfway through conference play, Hofstra wanted a break from their struggles, but instead, they got a 10th-best-in-the-nation effort from their opponent.
The Hofstra men’s lacrosse team fell to the 10th-ranked Cornell University Big Red in the Pride’s final non-conference game, 14-5. Cornell scored eight of the game’s final nine goals to make their win an easy one. Hofstra’s offense on the other hand, had zero multiple-goal scorers.
“We knew if we couldn’t make them uncomfortable, it was going to be a tough go at it,” said head coach Seth Tierney.
Despite the struggles Hofstra saw, they looked primed for an upset bid early on. The Pride rang in the game’s first two scores just 24 seconds apart from each other. Cornell’s Jake Pulver received a pushing penalty to put Hofstra in the man-up for 30 seconds, which Sam Llinares used to put through his 28th of the year.
The man-up continued for Hofstra, as Cornell was called for unsportsmanlike conduct following the goal, leading Brier Davis to score for the first time in four games.
The Pride disappeared from the scoreboard for the remainder of the quarter, allowing four unanswered goals to the Big Red.
With a 4-2 advantage after one, each squad tacked on two goals as they went into halftime, Zachary Franco and Korey Hendrickson scoring for the Pride.
Over their last two losses, Hofstra was able to equal or exceed their opponent’s scores in the second half, though this game it was to no avail. This time around, momentum out of the locker room was nowhere to be found.
The Pride only scored one time in the final 30 minutes, the lone goal coming from Mike Malave, his 28th, 2:55 into the third. It was the Pride’s fourth man-up score of the day.
“We’ve got some guys that are dinged up – Sam is banged up and going against Jordan Stevens, one of the better defensemen in the country – and they took advantage of that,” said Tierney.
Hofstra’s defense needed to hold a clinic to keep their team in the game, but instead they collapsed, allowing eight goals to make the final score 14-5.
Llinares was the Pride’s only multi-point scorer, with three on his goal and two assists.
New goalie Jack Concannon made eight saves in his starting debut, playing all but 46 seconds of the game. Faceoff specialist Kris Clarke had one of his only slow days of the season, going 8-for-21.
Hofstra, a team that typically shoots plenty, only shot 16 times compared to Cornell’s 42. This number was aided by 17 turnovers and the Big Red’s ground ball advantage of 32-17.
Hofstra has just two games left. They are both road CAA matchups that will determine their fate in making the conference tournament.
First up is Towson on Saturday at noon. Towson was not a conference favorite by a long shot, but are currently ranked 12th nationally.
