By Joe Pantorno, Assistant Sports Editor

A quick turn around is sometimes beneficial for a team and after a 7-6 loss on Saturday to Delaware; the Hofstra University men’s lacrosse team took down St. John’s, 8-5, Tuesday night.

After jumping out to a 2-0 lead with just 3:51 gone in the first quarter on Saturday, Hofstra conceded five straight goals to Delaware and could just not find a way back as the offense sputtered in its Colonial Athletic Association’s opener.

Returning home, the Pride quickly erased all memories of the loss over the weekend when it hit the field against the Red Storm.

“At times it wasn’t pretty, you had were some bumps along the way,” said head coach Seth Tierney. “Happy to win, always good to win on Shuart Stadium in front of the home crowd.”

An early goal from sophomore midfielder Ian Braddish seemed to be just a preview of what would be a Hofstra controlled game, but the Pride could not find the back of the net anymore in the game’s first ten minutes despite controlling possession.

St. John’s was able to string together a few lengthy possessions, but junior goalie Andrew Gvozden kept the Red Storm at bay.

Hofstra scored a second goal with 3:21 remaining in the first quarter on a long distance snipe from junior midfielder Kevin Ford.

The Red Storm was having difficulty keeping the ball, allowing Hofstra more opportunities to put scoring chances together.

Hofstra continued to methodically put points up on the board while the defense was shutting down the St. John’s attack.

When St. John’s was given an offensive opportunity whether it be an extra-man or off a Hofstra turnover, Gvozden continued to impress, saving all eight shots he faced in the first half.

“I felt our defense made it a lot easier,” said Gvozden. “Six or seven of them were routine saves, guys were falling down as they were shooting or getting checked. I wouldn’t say this is my best game or my worst game, but collectively, as a unit, played well defensively.”

The Pride hit the locker room for halftime leading 6-0 with senior attacker Stephen Bentz leading the Pride with two goals at the break.

An uneventful first six minutes of the third quarter was broken when senior attacker Jay Card dazzled the crowd with a behind the back goal.

“We’re just trying to do our job making the easy pass,” said Card. “We’re just finding guys and finding lanes and doing a great job of cutting off the ball.”

St. John’s finally found a way to beat Gvozden, scoring three unanswered goals to close out the third frame.

Senior attacker Jamie Lincoln got on the score sheet for the first time after an angled shot found the back of the net, ending St. John’s scoring run with three minutes gone in the fourth quarter.

Hofstra changed goalies with less than five minutes left in the game, replacing Gvozden with sophomore Rob Bellairs. St. John’s was able to score two more goals, but the Pride monopolized possession to run down the clock for its sixth victory of the season.

“Six [wins] and one [loss] half way through the season, any coach will settle for that,” said Tierney.

The Pride is next in action when it hosts Drexel on Saturday, 1 p.m at Shuart Stadium.