A strong defensive effort and a second-half shutout from Mac Gates helped the Hofstra Pride defeat the St. John’s University Red Storm in the consolation game of the Long Island Cup at James M. Shuart Stadium on Sunday, Feb. 27.
The Hofstra men’s lacrosse team entered Sunday’s game looking to end its two-game losing streak. The Pride lost to the Sharks of Long Island University on Friday, Feb. 25, eliminating them from the Championship game.
Sunday’s action started with a faceoff win for Hofstra’s Brian Herber. Both teams exchanged possessions until James Philbin netted his first goal of the afternoon, giving the Pride a one-goal lead.
Patrick Ednie brought the Red Storm even with the Pride as he found the back of the net, but shortly after Philbin added his second goal of the game for Hofstra, regaining the lead. 10 seconds later, after Herber won the following face-off Corey Kale collected the ground ball and pushed towards the net and added his third goal of the season.
The Red Storm’s Jonathon Huber made it a one-goal game, again adding his eighth goal of the season, but was answered when the Pride’s Colton Rudd chipped in his third goal of the season, giving Hofstra a two-point advantage by the end of the first period.
St. John’s Brian Kelly began the scoring in the second period, but Hofstra was able to respond with a scoring run.
Justin Sykes added his first goal of the day off an assist from Rudd, who shortly after was able to find the back of the net for the second time.
Ryan Sheridan joined in on the scoring action for Hofstra as he added his fourth goal of the season with 8:15 remaining.
Jack Lutfi cut the Red Storm’s deficit to three, but Hofstra’s Rory Jones expanded the margin by netting his sixth goal of the season.
Ednie and Lutfi were able to add a goal apiece for St. Johns before halftime, shrinking the Red Storm’s deficit to two.
After 30 minutes of play, the Pride had an advantage in the ground ball category with 20 to the Red Storm’s 12. They also had better numbers in the faceoff circle, winning 11 to St. John’s five.
The third quarter was a strong defensive showing for both sides, as neither team was able to score throughout the opening minutes.
With 58 seconds remaining in the frame, Gerard Kane collected his first goal of the afternoon to bring the Pride’s lead to three. A few seconds later after a Red Storm turnover, Kane added his second goal of the afternoon and Hofstra had a 10-6 lead heading into the final quarter.
The fourth began with Kane adding his third goal, pushing the Pride’s lead to five and Matt Elder pushing it to six with an open-net goal. The Red Storm went scoreless in the quarter as Hofstra defeated St. John’s 12-6.
Rudd tied with leading the team in points with two goals and one assist while Kane led in goals with three.
Herber went 14-22 in the faceoff circle. He led in ground balls, scooping five while Kale, Dylan McDermott, Griffin Turner and Bryan McIntosh each had four. McIntosh led the team with caused turnovers, causing three.
“It’s always good to win. I love our guys and we’ve got to get back to work” said Hofstra head coach Seth Tierney.
Mac Gates collected 14 saves on the day while shutting out the Red Storm in the second half. It was the first time the Pride held its opponent scoreless in the second half since 2015.
“Credit to Coach [John] Gorman, credit to the defense. We did a good job flipping in and out of zone,” Tierney said.
Hofstra’s win over St. John’s completed the first-ever Long Island Cup, as the Stony Brook University Seawolves won the overall tournament.
“I want to thank all three [other] teams, congrats to Stony Brook for winning the Long Island Cup; thank you to LIU and St. John’s,” Tierney said.
The Pride men’s lacrosse team looks next to Saturday, March 5 when they will head to Villanova University where they will have their first road game of the season. Face-off is scheduled for 1:00 p.m.
Photo courtesy of Adam Flash/The Hofstra Chronicle
