Despite keeping the game close with a ranked opponent, the Hofstra men’s lacrosse team suffered a 16-12 loss on Tuesday, April 16, at the hands of No. 9 Yale University at Shuart Stadium. This was the Pride’s third loss in a row and their eighth loss in the last nine games.

“I thought we played really hard,” said Hofstra head coach Seth Tierney. “We don’t do this for losses, but I’m proud of our guys. They came out to a top-10 team and they went punch-for-punch until the last couple of minutes.”

The Pride is now 4-9 on the season while the visiting Bulldogs are now 10-2.

Hofstra was down 2-0 early in the first quarter before Justin Sykes took an assist from Griffin Turner and got the Pride on the scoreboard a little after the seven-minute mark. Sykes later balanced the score as he drove past two defenders and slotted it home for his second goal of the game.

“[Sykes] was locked in tonight,” Tierney said. “I think that he’s a really quiet guy, and he leads by example. I think he was a little upset with how the Drexel [University] game ended. He snuck in, he finished the ball.”

Hofstra subsequently found a rhythm, scoring three unanswered goals for a 5-2 lead with under four minutes to go in the first quarter. After Chase Patterson and Blake Cooling each contributed their second goal of the season, Sykes converted his hat trick, whizzing the ball past Yale’s goalie, Jared Paquette.

Peter Moynihan ended the scoring drought for the Bulldogs, but the quarter ended 6-3 as John Madsen found the back of the net for the 35th time this season with 36 seconds left.

While the first quarter saw plenty of scoring from the Pride, the Bulldogs controlled the second quarter. Matt Brandau scored the first two goals for Yale in the first quarter and was determined to get a hat trick. He snapped the ball past Sean Henderson, unassisted, to make the score 6-4.

“The Brandau kid, I know him, I’ve known him since he was three,” Tierney said. “He makes it go for [Yale]. He plays with such poise, makes [his] guys better. He’s an impressive lacrosse player.”

Yale’s David Anderson tied the game over a four-minute timespan, both on assists from Brandau.

Hofstra was able to take the lead back with just over seven minutes to go in the first half. After the Bulldogs’ Jack Ocken got a penalty for an illegal body check, the Pride converted on the extra-man opportunity. Madsen found Colton Rudd in space, who proceeded to rifle it past Paquette.

Jack Stuzin tied the game for Yale at seven right before the teams went into the locker rooms for halftime.

John Madsen came scoring right out of halftime for the Pride, getting his second of the night on a screamer six seconds into the third quarter. Down 9-8, Hofstra had a successful clear, and Rudd passed the ball to Trevor Natalie, who scored to tie the game 9-9 halfway through the third quarter.

Two Yale goals put the visitors back up by two, but the Pride wasn’t fazed as Turner ripped it into the net to make it 11-10 going into the fourth quarter.

Trailing 12-10 with about 11 minutes to go, Natalie scored his second goal, unassisted, to put the Pride in reach. Just under four minutes later, Rory Jones scored what was Hofstra’s final goal of the game, knotting the two sides at 12.

Yale was able to claim the win after scoring four straight goals.

Sykes finished the night leading the team with his hat trick, the fourth of his Hofstra career. Sykes, Madsen and Patterson all led with three points each for the Pride in the defeat.

Despite the loss, it was a night of history for Patterson as he surpassed 500 face-off wins in his career and is now at 519. He had 23 face-off wins in this contest, good to tie for a career-high in a single game.

“I’ll get choked up over [Patterson] because there is no better person than him,” Tierney said. “He came back for a fifth year. People think that’s easy, but it isn’t. He’s on the field every day putting in extra time. Today, he did his job.”

The Pride returned to Coastal Athletic Association action on Saturday, April 20, to finish out the homestand against Hampton University. Opening face-off against the Pirates was at 1 p.m.  

 Photo courtesy of Hofstra Athletics/Lee S. Weissman