A strong second half by the Hofstra Pride men’s lacrosse team helped push them over the Stony Brook University Seawolves 20-17 on Saturday, Feb. 27, at the James M. Shuart Stadium.
A light rain fell until the early afternoon as the Pride warmed up on the field, looking to ride on momentum after their last winning game against Sacred Heart University. The stadium lights shined as the opening faceoff began for the Battle for Long Island.
The first quarter was a back-and-forth affair as the Pride traded goals with the Seawolves to start the game.
Pride attackman Justin Lynskey added two goals in the first with Ryan Tierney, Justin Sykes and Riley Forte chipping in and finding the back of the net for five goals while the Wolves added four of their own.
At the start of the second period, Alex Concannon added his first goal of the game, giving the Pride a two-goal lead until Seawolves’ Tom Haun and Matt Anderson each added goals, tying the game at six apiece.
Tierney added his second goal of the afternoon, giving the Pride a one-point lead until Seawolves’ Cory Vanginhoven tied it up at seven.
Tierney and Concannon each found the back of the net shortly after as the Pride had nine on the board.
The Seawolves went on an unanswered four-goal run to close out the period as they went into the half with an 11-9 lead. Vanginhoven, Dylan Palonetti, Haun and Anderson each found the back of the net as the lead grew for Stony Brook.
Coming out of the half, Tierney added his fourth goal of the game with James Philbin chipping in on his first, tying the game at 11.
The Seawolves responded with another scoring run as Palonetti added two goals and Wayne White added a goal, pushing Stony Brook to a 14-11 lead.
With the Pride in a man-up situation, Concannon answered with his third goal of the afternoon. Shortly after, Philbin gave his team momentum with his second goal giving the Pride momentum heading into the fourth quarter despite facing a one-goal deficit.
At the start of the fourth quarter, Tierney added his fifth goal of the day, tying the game at 14. On the following possession, Lynskey added his third goal of the afternoon, assisted from a Chase Patterson faceoff win, giving the Pride a 15-14 lead. A little while later, Tierney added his sixth goal on the afternoon as the Pride were up 16-14.
The Pride momentum was slightly cut after Palonetti added another goal for the Seawolves as Hofstra was clinging to a one-goal lead.
After confusing a defender with a fake and ripping a shot for his seventh goal of the afternoon, Tierney had his teammates electrified on the sidelines as the Pride was leading by two goals again. A little over a minute later, Colton Rudd got himself into the scoring column with his first goal of the game, ballooning the Hofstra lead to three points.
The game was a nail-biter down the stretch as Mike McCanell added two goals, cutting the Seawolves deficit to one goal with 3:04 remaining.
Concannon added his fourth goal of the day with 1:59 remaining and Tierney added his eighth goal of the day as time dwindled down. The energy on the sidelines was electric as the Pride defeated the Seawolves 20-17.
Mac Gates got the win for the Pride as he added 16 saves on the afternoon.
Chase Patterson went 23-34 in the faceoff circle, while also leading the team with 14 ground balls.
“Even when their backs are turned, they know where each other are, they support each other,” said Hofstra head coach Seth Tierney on the Pride offensive threat.
The Pride led in the faceoff category as it went 27-41. Hofstra also led in the groundball category as they scooped up 33 to the Seawolves’ 32.
Ryan Tierney led the Pride with three assists. The attackman’s 11 points in Saturday’s win help him move closer to breaking the Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) record for points in a career at 210. He is currently just two away from tying University of Delaware’s Curtis Dickson for the most in CAA history.
The Pride are looking to a short turnaround as they are scheduled to play Wagner College on Tuesday, March 2. Faceoff is scheduled for 2:00 p.m.
Photo Courtesy of Jacob Lewis
