The Hofstra University men’s lacrosse team was handed a 21-9 loss at the hands of the No. 18 University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Tar Heels on Saturday, March 9, at the James M. Shuart Stadium.
This defeat is Hofstra’s third straight loss, bringing them to 3-4 on the season as they look forward to Coastal Athletic Association (CAA) play. UNC-Chapel Hill improves to 4-2 on the year with the Tar Heels earning their first win over the Pride in more than a decade, having lost their last three matchups with Hofstra dating back to 2016.
“Anger and focus, they had that today,” said Hofstra head coach Seth Tierney. “They were not going to be denied righting the wrongs of a few years ago. We lost today. They beat us and we lost and when that combination happens it’s no good.”
The Tar Heels lead the game wire-to-wire, dominating Hofstra on both ends of the field. Time of possession was heavily in UNC-Chapel Hill’s favor and the few opportunities the Pride had on offense were shut down by a suffocating North Carolina defense. The Tar Heels refused to give up an inch to the Hofstra offense as they struggled to gain any momentum in the first half.
Matt Wrede got UNC on the board first with his second goal of the season, before Trevor Deubner found the net for the first time this season to put the Pride in a quick two-goal hole.
Sam Lutfi responded less than a minute later to get Hofstra on the board, but UNC-Chapel Hill rattled off another three straight goals to take a 5-1 lead after the first quarter.
“We could have made some plays,” Tierney said. “Sam [Lutfi] had an inside look after his first goal. Colton [Rudd] had an inside look in the first quarter. When you play against a top 20 team, if you don’t cash in on those layups it could be a two-goal swing and that’s what it was.”
Lutfi, along with Rory Jones, led Hofstra with two goals apiece, with five other members of the Pride finding the back of the net. Griffin Turner had a goal and a pair of assists for a team-high 3 points. Sean Henderson added 10 saves before Max May took over in net for the final 10 minutes.
Owen Duffy spearheaded the UNC-Chapel Hill offense, leading with a team-high four goals and five assists. Logan McGovern and James Matan both recorded hat tricks as the Tar Heels had 11 different players score in the win.
Justin Skyes scored his 11th goal of the season for the Pride just over one minute into the second quarter to bring Hofstra within four, but UNC-Chapel Hill responded with a 6-1 run the rest of the frame, leaving Hofstra to enter the break trailing 11-3.
“It’s one of those where you got to move on, we gotta cut it loose and have positive vibes moving forward,” Tierney said. “I promised the team, win, lose or draw there was going to be a scouting report for Fairfield [University] in their lockers and that’s what it was.”
Hofstra has split the last four meetings against Fairfield, losing the two most recent matchups 11-12 and 10-12, respectively.
“Fairfield is a playoff game, it’s just the way it is,” Tierney said. “The last two years they’ve gotten the best of us, we’ve been tied for the CAA tournament the last two years and were the team that lost the tiebreaker, this was one of those games that did that.”
The Pride travel to take on the Fairfield Stags for the opening of CAA play on Saturday, March 16, from Conway Field at Rafferty Stadium. Face-off is scheduled for noon.
Photo courtesy of Hofstra Athletics/Less S. Weissman
