The Hofstra men’s lacrosse team made a statement in their season opening 21-11 win against the Wagner College Seahawks at James M. Shuart Stadium Saturday, Feb. 8.

Freshman Justin Sykes could not have asked for a better start to his Hofstra career netting four goals in the game. He also received help from numerous teammates such as junior Dylan Mcintosh and senior Ryan Tierney who each had a hat trick in the game.

“Just felt good to finally wear the same color jersey as all my brothers in the locker room and do battle with them,” Sykes said. “I’m excited about the win today but we have a lot of work to do, so I am excited for the week to come.”

“In Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) [play] the games get a little longer and a little bit tougher, we need people with experience to step up in big moments,” said Ryan Tierney. “Games like today when we can get everybody in are huge for the future of the program.”

Tyler Lawton for the Seahawks also had four goals in his first game of the season and was accompanied by Jake Garb and Mikey Vanaman, who each had two goals apiece.

Hofstra got on the board first as Sykes scored a man-up goal, the first of his career, off an assist from junior James Philbin to take a 1-0 lead off a Wagner penalty at the 11:11 mark in the first quarter. Wagner wasted no time as they scored just over a minute later when Tim Schmidt got past the Hofstra defense to even the game at 1-1 with 10 minutes left in the first quarter.

Hofstra then got on the board again when junior Riley Forte scored an unassisted goal with a little over nine minutes remaining to take the lead 2-1 over the Seahawks. The Pride then got an unassisted goal from freshman Sam Lufti at the 7:22 mark to gain a 3-1 advantage. Both teams defense held up for the next couple of minutes with each goalie making a save in net for their teams. Hofstra then dented the twine again when Sykes found the back of the net after driving to the right of a defender and juking another to the floor to take a commanding 4-1 with 3:42 remaining in the quarter. Wagner was able to finally stop the bleeding when Garb got passed Hofstra goalie Robert Casey to cut the deficit to 4-2 to end the first quarter of play.

The Pride’s attack would continue early on in the second quarter as McIntosh scored his first goal of the season, to make the score 5-2 just 34 seconds into the second stanza of play. Hofstra’s balanced scoring would continue as Tierney and freshman Ryan Sheridan both struck the net to give the Pride a 7-2 lead with nearly 10 minutes left in the second quarter. The Pride spread their attack around and finding multiple options on offense to score goals. In their first game of the season, the Pride looked fluid on offense and moved as a unit down the field passing the ball until they found an open man to make a play for the team.

“It’s unbelievable… looking down the roster and seeing that three freshmen have scored their goals [to] combine for seven goals is awesome,” Ryan Tierney said.

Wagner would get on the board again, however, when Lawton got home for the Seahawks to make the score 7-3. From there the Seahawks began to climb back into the game with a Stephen Dwyer goal to bring the score closer at 7-4 with a little over seven minutes remaining until the half. Both teams would struggle to score again until Lawton for the Seahawks found the back of the net for his second time in the afternoon to make the score 7-5 with 4:21 remaining until the half. After their hot start, Hofstra would go on a scoring drought for nearly eight minutes of play in the second stanza until Hofstra scored two crucial goals within 12 seconds of each other, off the sticks of Philbin and senior Michael Altmann to take a 9-5 lead into the half.

The Seahawks came out the gate fast with Garb scoring his second goal at the 11:45 mark and then the very next play Wagner goalie Danny Brady made a key stop to keep Hofstra of the scoreboard. The Pride then went on a 7-0 scoring run with Altmann, Sheridan and McIntosh, among others, scoring their second goals on the evening, with the first coming just 25 seconds after the big save by Wagner off the stick of Altmann.  With Hofstra now up 16-6 at the 10:44 mark in the final quarter, Wagner was forced to make a change at goalie from Brady to John Wright, but it made no difference as Hofstra cruised to the victory.

The Pride, now 1-0 on the year, will be back in action next Saturday, Feb. 15 when they host the University of Michigan. That game will start at 11 a.m.

Photo Courtesy of Hofstra Athletics