Junior fullback John McCoy's second touchdown of the game, a one-yard run with 45 seconds to play, gave the 15th-ranked Wildcats of New Hampshire a 33-27 come-from-behind Atlantic 10 Conference victory over the Hofstra Pride at Cowell Stadium on Saturday. The Wildcats improve to 5-2 overall and 2-2 in A-10 play. The Pride, who dropped their second straight game in heartbreaking fashion, fall to 3-4 and 1-3.

The Pride held a 24-10 lead at halftime after two touchdowns in the final 1:18 of the second quarter broke a 10-10 tie. Hofstra sophomore running back Terry Crenshaw rushed 20 yards for a score after Hofstra junior cornerback Prentice James picked off UNH quarterback Ricky Santos at the Wildcat 32-yardline with 1:18 to play. On the ensuing kickoff, Pride end Justyn Davis forced David Bailey to fumble and then recovered the miscue at the UNH 21-yardline.  Five plays later, Hofstra sophomore quarterback Anton Clarkson hit a leaping Charles Sullivan (pictured)with a short pass and the standout redshirt freshman receiver dodged his way into the end zone with 43 seconds to play in the half.

But New Hampshire closed the gap in the third quarter on its first possession as Santos engineered a 13-play, 59-yard drive that resulted in Connor McCormick's second field goal of the game, this time from 29 yards, to close the deficit to 24-13. Later in the period Clarkson had a pass deflected and intercepted by UNH end Jared Perkoski at the Pride 31-yardline. After Bailey rushed for three yards, Santos hit the senior receiver with a 28-yard scoring pass to bring the Wildcats even closer at 24-19 with 4:07 to play in the third. The two-point conversion pass failed.

The Pride had a chance to add to their lead on the next possession, driving to the UNH 3-yardline. But an illegal formation penalty set Hofstra back on the seven and, after an incomplete pass, Clarkson was picked off at the 5-yardline by Derek Stank to end the 10 play drive.

Hofstra did add to their lead on its first possession of the fourth quarter as Chris Onorato booted his second field goal of the game, from 45 yards, to give the Pride a 27-19 lead with 12:49 to play. After exchanging possessions, Santos directed a 9-play, 61-yard drive and hit sophomore receiver Aaron Brown with a 14-yard scoring pass with 5:25 to play to close to within two at 27-25 after the two-point pass failed.

After the Pride went three-and-out on its next possession, Hofstra senior Joe Nolan punted 38 yards to the UNH 34 where David Bailey returned the boot 33 yards to the Hofstra 33. Santos had a 19-yard completion to David Ball to the Hofstra 14 before McCoy carried the ball on the next five plays and scored from one-yard out with 45 seconds to play. It was McCoy's second touchdown of the game after his 53-yard pass from Santos tied the game at 10 with 2:44 to play in the half.

UNH pinned Hofstra back on its own 9-yardline after the kickoff. After a limping Clarkson hit senior Isaac Irby, for a gain of 15, who pitched a lateral to Brian Wolman for another six yards that moved the ball to the 30-yardline. Hofstra was forced to take its final timeout with 26 seconds to play. Clarkson then had two incomplete passes before Crenshaw's third-and-10 run for no gain ran the clock out on the Pride.

UNH posted 444 yards on offense while the Pride tallied 391. Hofstra sputtered on the big play, going 4-for-16 in third down conversions. Clarkson completed 22 of 44 passes for 271 yards and two touchdowns with two interceptions. Crenshaw rushed 20 times for 107 yards-his third 100-yard rushing game of the season-and had three catches for 16 yards. Sullivan (85 yards) and Irby (53 yards) each posted six receptions for 85 and 53 yards respectively. Devale Ellis, who recorded a 19-yard scoring pass from Clarkson in the first quarter, had five catches for 87 yards. For UNH, Santos completed 22 of 38 for 262 yards and three touchdowns with one interception. McCoy finished with 86 yards on 19 carries and had five catches for 81 yards while Ball had six catches for 84 yards.

The Pride will host Richmond next Saturday, October 30 at Noon while UNH will travel to Northeastern for a 12:30 p.m. contest.