It was a tough afternoon for the Hofstra Pride Men’s lacrosse team as they were defeated by the Rutgers University Scarlet Knights, 22-10, at the James M. Shuart Stadium on Saturday, March 19.
“We need to get better,” said Hofstra head coach Seth Tierney. “We’re going to regroup. Sometimes you need a game like this. There’s been a cloud over the program a little bit with some injuries and bad timing.”
Rutgers took the opening faceoff and the lead when Jonathan Dugenio scored seven seconds into the contest. 12 seconds later, he was followed by Ross Scott, who netted his first goal of the game and gave Rutgers an early two-goal lead.
Throughout the first quarter, Ryan Gallagher, Michael Sanguinetti, Bobby Russo, Tommy Coyne and Brian Cameron were all able to find the back of the net. After the first 15 minutes of play, Rutgers held a commanding 7-0 lead over the Pride.
The Knights continued to pour it on in the second quarter, with goals from Shane Knobloch, Remington Reynolds and Cameron. Hofstra was finally able get on the board when Ryan Sheridan netted his sixth goal of the season with eight minutes left before the half.
Justin Kim and Brennan Kamish answered for Rutgers, pushing its lead to 11, until Dylan McIntosh brought the score to 11-1 when he scored Hofstra’s first goal of the game. However, Rutgers’ James Ringer netted his first goal of the season with 4:07 left on the clock to make the score 12-1.
In the first half, Rutgers outshot Hofstra 33-11. The Knights also led in ground balls, having 19 to the Pride’s 16.
After Brian Herber won the opening faceoff in the third quarter for Hofstra, McIntosh was able to add his second goal of the afternoon, with an assist from Matt Elder, bringing the Pride back to within 10. Minutes later, Sterlyn Ardrey, who made his return for Hofstra after missing the last five games, was able to find the back of the net for his third goal of the season, shrinking the Pride’s deficit down to nine.
After Luke Romanek won the following faceoff, Ross Scott pushed the Knights’ lead back to 10 with an assist from Coyne. Herber then had a faceoff violation for the Pride, and Rutgers took advantage of the opportunity with a goal from Nick Teresky, bringing the Knights’ lead back up to 11.
After Cameron added another goal for Rutgers, Corey Kale was able to scoop a ground ball off the following faceoff and added Hofstra’s fifth goal of the afternoon.
Rutgers was able to respond with four unanswered goals, making the score 20-5.
With 1:12 remaining, Gerard Kane was able to add his first goal of the game for Hofstra, while Dante Kulas was able to add two more goals for Rutgers.
Despite the deficit, the Pride still made one last offensive gasp with goals from Elder and Sheridan. James Philbin and Will Delaney also added some late goals.
Despite the late game push, Hofstra fell to the Scarlet Knights 22-10.
Sheridan led the Pride in points with two goals and an assist.
“Today, [I’m] thrilled he had two goals, thrilled how [Sheridan] went to the cage,” Tierney said.
Mac Gates finished with 12 saves in the loss, Chase Patterson led the team in ground balls with five and Bryan McIntosh led the team in caused turnovers with three.
The Pride look to Saturday, March 26, when they will head to Providence College to take on the Friars in the final game before conference play. Faceoff is scheduled for 1 p.m.
Photo Courtesy of Hofstra Athletics
