Hempstead, NY –The Hofstra Men's Lacrosse team kicks off its 69th season of competition this Saturday, February 18 when the Pride host the Hawks of Monmouth University at James M. Shuart Stadium. Game time is 1 p.m.
Pride Productions will provide live audio and video of the contest live beginning with the pregame show at 12:30 p.m. Gio Annatelli and Nick Faria will call the action in the game. Hofstra will also provide access to live stats with links on this page as well as on the Hofstra Men's Lacrosse schedule page on GoHofstra.com.
Tickets are priced at $12 for reserved chairback seats, $10 for general admission seats and $6 for senior citizen and youth tickets. Fans can purchase tickets by visiting HofstraTickets.com, where it is possible to print their tickets at home. In addition, fans can also call (516) HOF-TIXX or visit the Hofstra Athletics Box Office in the Mack Sports Complex for more ticket information during normal business hours.
Hofstra Head Men's Lacrosse Coach
Seth Tierney is beginning his 11
th season at the helm of the Pride and has recorded an 87-61 record during his tenure in Hempstead. The Pride is coming off a 9-6 season that included a third place (3-2) finish in the Colonial Athletic Association and a trip to the conference championship semifinals. Hofstra 2016 season opened with a promising 10-5 victory at then-fifth-ranked North Carolina. The Tar Heels would go on to capture the NCAA Division I Championship.
Tierney has 29 returnees, including five starters, from last year's team and 12 talented newcomers with which to work in 2017. Leading the returnees is the Pride's 2016 leading scorer, senior, co-captain
Josh Byrne. The New Westminster, BC, Canada native tallied 30 goals and 15 assists for 45 points in his first season at Hofstra after transferring from Nassau Community College and was named to the All-CAA first team.
Junior midfielder
Brendan Kavanagh, who is the 2017 Nicholas Colleluori Memorial Tribute Award recipient and will wear number 27 this season, is Hofstra's second leading returning scorer after posting 10 goals and 13 assists in 2016. He was named to the 2017 Preseason All-CAA Men's Lacrosse team last month.
The face-off duties, once again, fall into the hands of senior
Kris Clarke. The two-time All-CAA first team selection and 2017 preseason all-conference selection has won 58 percent of his face-offs over his three-year career.
The Hofstra defense, which return three players who saw extensive time last season, is anchored by junior
Tanner Griffin. A preseason all-conference selection in 2017, Griffin picked up 25 ground balls last season.
Junior
Jack Concannon, an All-CAA first team selection last year and a preseason all-conference pick and preseason All-American third team selection by Inside Lacrosse in 2017, played all but 15 minutes in goal for the Pride last season, posting an 8.56 goals against average with 167 saves and a .568 save percentage in 2016.
Saturday's meeting with the Hawks of Monmouth is the first-ever meeting between Hofstra and Monmouth in men's lacrosse. The Hawks opened the season with a 12-10 victory at Villanova last Saturday. The Wildcats were ranked 16
th in the media poll. Senior midfielder Tyler Keen led Monmouth with four goals while class and linemate Zach Schleicher added three goals. Senior goalie Nick Hreshko recorded 15 saves in the Hawks' cage and helped offset a 49-31 difference in shots and a 17-8 difference in face-offs that favored Villanova.
Monmouth is coming off a 7-7 season and was 6-0 on the road in 2016.
