In a disappointing home opener, Hofstra men’s lacrosse fell to Villanova University 7-2 on Saturday afternoon at James M. Shuart Stadium. The Pride is now 0-2 on the year with Villanova jumping to 3-0. 

Senior Dylan Alderman was the only player to score for the Pride. He netted his first two goals of the season. 

“Tough day,” Hofstra head coach Seth Tierney said. “We have to explain the formula to winning a division one lacrosse game … [Villanova’s] a good team, but you can’t score two goals in a lacrosse game.”

It took one minute in the first quarter for the Wildcats to seal the fate of the Pride.

Hofstra began the game with possession after Kyle Gallagher won the opening face-off but was unable to make a successful shot. After a turnover by Jimmy Yanes gave the Wildcats possession, Danny Seibel opened scoring with a goal past Jack Concannon, assisted by Keegan Khan, with 12:25 to play in the first quarter. 

Villanova regained possession in the faceoff and Christian Cuccinello netted one to give the Wildcats their second goal of the game. 

Less than 30 seconds later, Khan scored a goal of his own for the Wildcats’ third goal in a minute span for a 3-0 lead from which they would never look back. 

“Defensively, it’s hard to be upset without defense outside the first couple of minutes,” Seth Tierney said. “We let up a couple of goals that are clearly part of our game plan … before you know it, we’re down three. That was the first domino that fell.”

Alderman scored for the Pride midway through the first quarter to cut the deficit to two. It was his first goal of the season. 

Going into the matchup, Villanova was 3-for-4 on extra-man opportunities, but Hofstra’s defense, headed by Concannon, only allowed one goal out of the Wildcat’s four opportunities. 

“Certainly proud of [Concannon],” Seth Tierney said. “He was in there. He played hard.”

Concannon finished the afternoon with 13 saves.

After halftime, the Wildcats offense scored four unanswered goals in the third quarter, putting any chances of a comeback out of sight for the Pride. Luke Palmadesso scored off the opening face-off. Colin Crowley added a man-up goal less than a minute later. Cuccinello added two more goals just under two minutes apart midway through the period for a hat-trick and 7-1 lead. 

Alderman notched his second goal of the afternoon with eight seconds remaining in the third quarter. 

Despite nine shots, those two goals would be the only two Alderman would score.

“They have a good defense, but I think it was tough for us because we didn’t stick to the game plan,” Alderman said. “We need to back up our defense and stick to the game plan.”

Sophomore Ryan Tierney tallied eight shots but was unable to put one in the net; his consecutive game point streak has come to an end at 15. 

Hofstra returns to action on Tuesday, Feb. 27, when the Pride travel to face Stony Brook University at 7 p.m.