The Hofstra Pride men’s lacrosse team fell to the University of Massachusetts Amherst (UMass) Minutemen 13-9 on Saturday, April 23, during Senior Day at James M. Shuart Stadium.
After both teams traded possession to start off the contest, UMass took an early one-goal lead after Logan Liljeberg found the back of the net. Less than a minute later, Aidan Kaminska gave the Minutemen a two-goal advantage. Gabriel Procyk stretched UMass’ lead to three when he found the back of the net for the 22nd time this season with three and a half minutes left in the opening quarter.
The Pride finally got on the board after a penalty for UMass’ Matt Caddigan gave way for Rory Jones to net Hofstra’s first goal with 13:28 remaining in the second quarter after taking an assist from Gerard Kane. Moments later, Kane added his 20th goal of the season, cutting Hofstra’s deficit to one.
The Minutemen answered to Hofstra’s back-to-back scores by going on a three-goal run as Liljeberg, Grant Breyo and Kevin Tobin gave UMass a four-goal lead.
Hofstra gained some momentum as Kane netted his second goal of the afternoon. Then, after Chase Patterson won the following faceoff, Pride head coach Seth Tierney called timeout and drew a play that saw Griffin Turner net his sixth goal of the season, bringing Hofstra within two.
After Patterson won the following faceoff, Turner chipped in with another goal to bring the Pride within a goal at the half.
At halftime, UMass had the upper hand in the faceoff circle, leading nine to Hofstra’s four wins. The Minutemen led in turnovers, having nine to the Pride’s six.
Scoring in the second half began when Mike Tobin scored to put the Minutemen ahead by two until Jones added his second goal for Hofstra, making the score 7-6.
Liljeberg briefly brought UMass’ lead back up to two until Gerard Kane connected with Dylan McIntosh, who scored his 20th goal of the season.
After UMass won the following faceoff, Hofstra was called for a slashing penalty, putting the Minutemen in a man-up opportunity. Kevin Tobin answered with a goal, putting UMass up by two heading into the final quarter.
The Minutemen kept the momentum heading into the fourth as Carter Castillo added a goal and Kaminska added two, putting UMass up by five.
Corey Kale and Matt Elder each added goals for the Pride that brought Hofstra to within three but it wasn’t enough as Kevin Tobin added the Minutemen’s 13th goal of the game.
“[I’m] certainly upset about the final score,” Tierney said. “UMass got us in the second half there. [I’m] awfully proud of our guys.”
Mac Gates had the loss for Hofstra despite making 11 saves in goal. Kane and Turner led the Pride in points, each having two goals and two assists.
“I’m so proud of those guys,” Tierney said. “Freshmen in a game that’s got a lot of weight, and stepping up will reap the benefits of that, later on in life and maybe hopefully later on this season.”
Chase Patterson led Hofstra in ground balls by scooping up seven.
Sam Lutfi forced three turnovers.
The Pride’s defense was 1-6 in the man-down situations.
Hofstra looks to next week where they will travel to Towson University in the final game of the regular season to face the Tigers. Faceoff is scheduled for 12 p.m.
Photo Courtesy of Hofstra Athletics
