Hempstead, NY – The seventh-ranked Hofstra Men's Lacrosse team (10-1, 2-1 CAA) will be looking to secure a Colonial Athletic Association Championship bid this Saturday, April 22 when the Pride host the Minutemen of the University of Massachusetts at James M. Shuart Stadium. Game time for the Pride's Alumni Day/Senior Day regular season home finale is 1 p.m.
Pride Productions will provide free live video and audio streaming of the contest. In addition, Hofstra will also provide live statistics. Links for all three can be found on this page as well as on the Hofstra Men's Lacrosse schedule page on GoHofstra.com. In addition, WRHU-FM 88.7 will also broadcast the contest on terrestrial radio.
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 David S. Mack Sports and Exhibition Complex for more ticket information.
Hofstra, which is ranked in the Top 10 in all three weekly polls for the fifth consecutive week, slipped from last week's number two rankings in both the USILA/Nike Coaches Poll and the Maverik/Inside Lacrosse Media Poll following their 13-12 home loss to Drexel this past Saturday. The Pride led 9-2 at halftime and 11-6 after three quarters before the Dragons mounted a furious seven-goal fourth quarter comeback. The loss spoiled a season-best five goals by freshman
Ryan Tierney and season-bests of three goals, two assists and five points by sophomore
Jimmy Yanes. Junior
Brendan Kavanagh added two goals while senior
Josh Byrne extended his consecutive game points and goals streaks to 16 and seven, respectively.
This season, Hofstra has wins over Monmouth (11-9), Princeton (10-8), NJIT (20-4), Georgetown (11-9), North Carolina (11-9), Providence (11-10), Stony Brook (11-9), St. John's (9-6), Fairfield (10-6) and Delaware (11-9) and the lone loss to Drexel. Five of the 10 Pride victories have been by identical 11-9 scores. Hofstra averages 11.55 goals per game and allows 8.36 goals per game which ranks 13th in the country. Hofstra is also making the most of their extra-man opportunities, connecting on 15 of 34 man-up chances for a .441 success rate, which ranks 14th in the nation. The Pride is also third in Division I in clearing percentage (163-178/.916) and
On the season, Byrne now has 30 goals, equaling his career-high set last season, and a career-highs of 21 assists and 51 points in 11 games this season. He has tallied 96 career points since his arrival at Hofstra for the 2016 season. Tierney has added 25 goals and 13 assists while junior
Dylan Alderman has career-highs of 11 goals, 15 assists and 26 points. Classmate
Alex Moeser now has career-highs of 14 goals, seven assists and 21 points while classmate
Brendan Kavanagh has scored a career-high 17 goals. Junior goalie
Jack Concannon, who made six saves against Drexel, has an 8.37 goals against average with 129 saves and a .589 save percentage.
UMass and the Pride will be meeting for the 42nd time with the Minutemen holding a 22-19 series advantage. Hofstra has won two of the last three encounters including a 10-9 overtime victory in Amherst on April 23, 2016.
Brendan Kavanagh scored the game-winner for the Pride with 14 seconds remaining in the first overtime. UMass' last victory in the series came in 2015 in Hempstead, 9-7.
The Minutemen of Massachusetts, who are also looking to secure a CAA Championship spot with a victory, enter Saturday's contest with a 5-6 overall record and a 2-1 slate in the CAA after their 12-8 victory over Fairfield last Saturday. UMass, which, like Drexel, opened the season with four consecutive losses, has wins over Yale (11-9), UMass Lowell (10-8), Hartford (12-10), Delaware (9-6) and Fairfield (12-8). Their losses have come against Army West Point (9-2), Ohio State (8-7), Harvard (11-7), Albany (17-8), Brown (10-9 in OT) and Towson (11-8). The Minutemen average 8.64 goals per game and allow 9.73 per outing.
UMass is led in scoring by senior Dan Muller with 17 goals and a team-high 13 assists while sophomore Tyler Bogart has added a team-high 23 goals and three assists. Junior Buddy Carr has added 12 goals and eight assists and senior Grant Consoletti has contributed seven goals and 10 assists. Senior goalie D.J. Smith has played in 11 games and has posted a 9.96 goals against average with 120 saves and a .536 save percentage.
Before Saturday's contest, Hofstra will honor its seven graduating seniors as well the family of the late Joseph Ferriso who was killed in a single car accident in 2015. Ferriso would have been a member of this year's graduating class for the Pride.
After the Massachusetts contest, the Pride will wrap up their regular season schedule on Saturday, April 29 at the Tigers of Towson. Game time at Johnny Unitas Stadium is noon.
