For the third straight year, the Hofstra men’s lacrosse team has defeated the University of North Carolina, this time beating the eighth-ranked Tar Heels by a score of 12-6 on Saturday afternoon at Shuart Stadium on the strength of Dylan MacIntosh’s first career hat trick.
The Pride came roaring out of the gates early in this one. Just after the first half, they lead UNC 7-0. Alex Moeser led the way with two goals and one assist.
The first quarter only saw one goal courtesy of Moeser. Although it was just 1-0, both teams applied constant pressure. Both Hofstra’s Jack Concannon and UNC’s Jack Pezzulla made strong saves throughout the quarter.
The game became all Hofstra in the second quarter via a joint effort by the Pride. Nearly two minutes into the quarter, Moeser scored his second goal of the game. Just eight seconds later, Kyle Gallagher got on the board to make it 3-0. Four goals followed this as Ryan Tierney, Jimmy Yanes, Dylan Alderman and McIntosh all joined in on the scoring.
As the Pride kept pouring on the offense, the Tar Heels couldn’t seem to get anything going. In the first half, they only took three shots on goal compared to Hofstra’s 12.
In the third quarter, the Tar Heel offense came to life as they scored four goals – two each by Chris Cloutier and Matt Cunningham. That wasn’t enough to stop the Pride offense as Brenden Kavanagh scored a goal and McIntosh and Tierney both scored their second of the game.
Having scored goals late in the third UNC had all the momentum going into the fourth. They came out aggressive, but Concannon stood his ground on a shot from point-blank range.
“Our defense settled in, you know there were a few shot there right up on the crease. I’ve been watching film on the shooters,” Concannon said after the game.
Seconds later, the Pride marched their way up the field and Yanes set up McIntosh for his third goal of the game marking his first-ever hat trick with the Pride.
A surge by the Tar Heels late in the fourth quarter wasn’t enough to amount to anything significant.
This win marks head coach Seth Tierney’s 100th career win with Hofstra.
“When I heard it on the loud speaker on the handshake line I wasn’t aware of it to be honest with you. I’m just thrilled, thrilled that it was here at Hofstra,” Tierney said.
The Pride are now 2-2 on the season and have won two in a row. Looking ahead, the Pride will play host to Monmouth University on Tuesday night at 7 p.m.
