Six points from Ryan Tierney and help from Riley Forte and Justin Lynskey was enough to help the Hofstra Pride men’s lacrosse team defeat the University of Massachusetts Minutemen 12-11 at Garber Field.
The Pride entered Friday’s game with momentum after defeating the Towson University Tigers a week earlier but were looking to avenge their 10-16 defeat against the Minutemen from March 30.
The Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) rivalry was revamped as 5 p.m. hit and it was time for the opening faceoff.
Several minutes into the first period, Kevin Tobin broke the ice of scoring as he found the back of the net, giving the Minutemen a one-goal lead, but Hofstra didn’t take too long to answer.
Riley Forte scored his ninth goal of the season as the Pride got on the board. On the next possession, Justin Sykes added his tenth goal of the season giving Hofstra a one-point lead.
The rest of the first wasn’t easy for the visitors as turnovers and missed shots helped the Minutemen go on a four-goal run to close out the rest of the period as the Pride saw themselves down 2-5.
Tobin chipped in his third goal at the start of the second period but Pride defenseman Michael Altmann answered quickly after the following faceoff draw and finding the back of the net for his second goal of the season.
After a faceoff violation by the Minutemen, Dylan McIntosh brought the Pride to within two points as he chipped in with his first goal of the season.
[Mike] Tobin and Jeff Trainor gave UMass a four-goal lead with 5:13 remaining in the period but Ryan Tierney brought the Pride to within striking distance to end the period.
With 3:05 remaining in the second period, Tierney notched his first goal of the game. A little over two minutes later he added his second, bringing the Pride to within two during the final moments of the first half.
The Minutemen’s Jack Gump was called for a penalty in the remaining seconds of the half, allowing the Pride to open the third period with a man-up advantage.
Coming out of halftime, Tierney brought the Pride to within a goal. After Brian Herber won the following faceoff, Lynskey tied the game at eight with his first goal of the evening. Minutes later, after UMass’s Clayton Proctor was charged with an unnecessary roughness penalty, Forte gave the Pride a one-goal lead with 6:43 remaining in the period.
Kevin Tobin tied the game at nine apiece with 4:41 remaining. The score stayed the same as both teams were headed to the final period.
Billy Philpott gave the Minutemen a temporary one-goal lead but Riley Forte tied the game at 10 with his third goal of the evening.
Not long after, Lynskey provided back-to-back goals for the Pride, giving Hofstra a two-goal lead with 4:05 remaining.
Despite having the lead, the Pride had a turnover with 45 seconds left in the period. After the Minutemen cleared, Trainor converted on the opportunity for his second goal of the evening.
Despite Herber winning the following faceoff, the Pride had a second straight turnover allowing the Minutemen to have time to tie the game. Unfortunately for the Pride, they were down two men due to separate penalties.
With seven seconds remaining, Pride head coach Seth Tierney called timeout to strategize the defensive planning.
In UMass’s final possession, a turnover on Arrant sealed the game as the Pride defeated the Minutemen 12-11 in a nail-biter finish.
Ryan Tierney provided three goals and three assists on the night. He currently is seven goals away from tying the CAA record and eight away from breaking the all-time goals record.
Lynskey added three goals and two assists while Forte had three goals and one assist during the evening.
Herber was 17-24 from the faceoff circle while also leading the team with nine ground balls.
Chase Patterson also went 1-2 from the faceoff circle for the Pride.
Bobby Casey got the win for the Pride as he added seven saves on the evening.
Hofstra is now 6-2 overall and 3-1 in CAA play.
The Pride looks ahead to Tuesday, April 13 as they go on the road to Towson. Faceoff is scheduled for 12 p.m.
Photo Courtesy of Hofstra Athletics
