By Mark Walters
After mixed results in non-conference play this past week, the Hofstra men’s lacrosse team has some things to figure out. Thankfully the Pride still has a home game against CAA-foe Villanova to continue the learning process.
A 13-8 loss at the hands of then-No. 10 North Carolina last Saturday did not exactly leave the Pride reeling, but it didn’t exactly respond in the best fashion three days later, beating Stony Brook in a game head coach Seth Tierney’s team led for just 3:58. It was a microcosm of this season, winning a game that was largely in doubt.
“I’m thrilled that we won but I’m not happy with the way we played,” Tierney said of the Stony Brook game. “It’s not supposed to happen that way.”
“That way” was Stony Brook pasting five unanswered goals between the first two quarters at Shuart Stadium, three of them coming within 1:10 of one another. The Seawolves led by as many as five goals twice, outscoring Hofstra 6-3 in the second quarter.
Play like that against a Johns Hopkins or Virginia and the Pride will almost definitely be one-and-done in the NCAA Tournament. Of course, playing like that in the CAA Tournament and Hofstra likely won’t even be picked on May 3’s Selection Sunday.
Losing to UNC, though, was definitely a learning tool for the Pride. Nobody likes to lose, but it’s good for a team on a hot streak to be humbled at a time when it can afford a loss to a better team.
“I’m a self-admitted bad loser,” Tierney said after the UNC loss. “Playing North Carolina taught us a few lessons and we’ll regroup.”
Fast forward to Tuesday night, and the Pride could need to regroup even more. Maybe it was the misty, foggy weather, or the fact that Hofstra had just one day to prepare for Stony Brook after a well-deserved Sunday off, but the Pride came out flat Tuesday night.
You could look at the Stony Brook win one of two ways: Either Hofstra isn’t as good as its No. 9 ranking, nearly losing to the unranked Seawolves, or Hofstra is a team of destiny, having won its sixth one-goal affair. The Pride is 6-0 when games are decided by one goal.
Either way you choose to look at it, there are certainly some kinks to work out. After the way the Pride fought Tuesday night though, against the ropes, it proves it’s a good team. Regardless of how it won, it won. Winning despite Stony Brook coming out guns-a-blazing wasn’t easy, yet the Pride got it done.
Team of destiny? Late-game heroics and comebacks are certainly commonplace for this team.
“We definitely know we can come back in the fourth quarter and at the end of the game just because of what we did in the beginning of the season,” Kevin Ford said after the Stony Brook game. He scored five goals, four of which were in the second half.
Still, Coach Tierney knows his team has work to do.
“We need to understand,” Tierney began, “that in the position we’re in, and we’re very thankful to be 10-2 at this point of the season. There’s not many teams that can say that they’re 10-2. We need to come out of the locker room playing like we’re 2-10 and we haven’t figured that out just yet.
“We’ve got four days to figure that out and it starts now.”