By Kyle Kandetzki – SPOTS EDITOR
Conference play in CAA lacrosse is like walking a tightrope, with just five games deciding your postseason fate, but the Pride kept their balance in their second test this weekend.
The men’s lacrosse team defeated the University of Delaware Blue Hens on the road Sunday, 9-5. Against the Pride, Delaware scored fewer goals against a team not receiving votes in national polls, than they have recorded all seaon. The offense was carried by senior Mike Malave, who scored four times.
“I’m thrilled for our guys since they’ve had a lot of weight on their shoulders this year,” said head coach Seth Tierney. “Things are moving in a good direction.”
The Pride offense was aided by a dominant performance from faceoff specialist Kris Clarke, who only lost two attempts on the day (15-for-17). His day at the X allowed for an overriding and calm offense from Hofstra, as opposed to their loss against UMass.
Sophomore Zachary Franco was a new face in the Pride’s starting lineup was. Franco took up one of three starting attack roles, and he immediately showed his potential. After the Blue Hens led off the day in scoring, Franco posted back-to-back goals – Hofstra’s only two in the first period. The scores were just his second and third as a member of the team.
The second half saw the return of normal Hofstra offensive weapons, doing damage on junior goalie Conor Peaks. The Pride scored four times in the second quarter. Malave earned a hat trick within just nine minutes, including a man-up goal thanks to a slashing call on Delaware.
Malave’s third goal tied him with Sam Llinares for most on the team, but the CAA Player of the Year took the title back, going into halftime with his 25th, giving Hofstra a 6-2 lead at the break.
“I don’t think we forced a ton of shots,” said Tierney. “I thought last week forced four or five bad ones.”
Delaware struggled to find any sort of alternative offensive weaponry at any point, as Brian Kormondy scored all of their first three goals. The Blue Hens, however, created a temporary scare by netting the first two goals of the second half to make the game a two-goal contest.
But the Pride warded away thoughts of a 0-2 start by scoring three of the game’s final four goals, including one more each from Malave and Llinares. Llinares’s came with just 24 seconds remaining. He took the team’s goal lead once again and locked the final score at 9-5.
Hofstra’s defense had one of their best outings of 2015, not only limiting the goal scoring, but only allowing the Blue Hens to take a total of 16 shots compared to their 40. The Pride also out-groundballed Delaware 31-18, while also forcing four missed clears.
After a rough start to their season, coach Tierney stressed starting from scratch going forward, and he is happy to recognize that record instead.
“Since we started our ‘new season’ we have won three of our last four,” said Tierney.
Hofstra is 1-1 in conference play with an overall mark of 4-5. Their next CAA test is against Drexel, who is 0-1 in-conference after falling to Fairfield. That game will be at James M. Shuart Stadium this Saturday at 1:00.
