Hempstead, NY - The Hofstra Men's Lacrosse team will kick off its 2018 Colonial Athletic Association schedule this Saturday, March 31 when the Pride host defending conference champions, the Towson Tigers at James M. Shuart Stadium. Game time for the Military Appreciation contest is 1 p.m.

Military personnel can receive free tickets for themselves and their family by calling the Hofstra ticket office at (516) 463-TIXX (8499) by Friday at 5 p.m. Military will also receive a voucher for a free 20-oz. drink from Compass.

Fans can also get in on a special replica jersey ticket deal by purchasing a $20 ticket to the game that will include a replica jersey of what the Pride will be wearing for the game on Saturday.

Hofstra Pride Productions will provide a live video stream of the game on GoHofstra.com. Hofstra will also provide live game stats through HofstraStats.com. Pride Productions will also provide a live audio stream provided by WRHU, Radio Hofstra University with student broadcasters Gio Annatelli, Nick Faria and Justin Huntsman describing the action. All links are available on this page as well as on the men's lacrosse schedule page at GoHofstra.com.

Hofstra is 4-4 on the season and coming off a heart-breaking 9-8 loss at St. John's in Jamaica, New York last Saturday. The Red Storm scored three times in the fourth quarter, including the game-winner with just three seconds remaining, to knock off the 19^th-ranked Pride and nullify a six-goal game by Hofstra freshman Dylan McIntosh. McIntosh scored his six goals on six shots to give the Pride a 6-3 lead in the second quarter. But St. John's held the Pride to just two goals in the second half to post the victory. Sophomore Ryan Tierney added three assists for Hofstra.

Hofstra allows only 7.50 goals per game while scoring 8.75 per outing. The Pride is also among the national leaders in defense, ranking fourth in Division I.

Hofstra has four players with double-figures in points through eight games as Tierney leads the team with 33 points on 14 goals and 19 assists after recording 10 assists in his last two games. Junior Jimmy Yanes has 20 points on 13 goals and seven assists while McIntosh has 17 goals and one assist. Senior Dylan Alderman, who missed the last four games due to injury, has four goals and seven assists. Sophomore Kyle Gallagher, who won 10-of-17 face-offs against St. John's, is now 86-for-150 for a .573 winning percentage, while also picking up a team-best 60 ground balls..

Towson and the Pride will be meeting for the 49th time with the Pride holding a 26-22 series advantage. The Tigers won the last two meetings, 10-8 in Towson last year and 8-7 in Hempstead in 2016. Hofstra won the two encounters before 2016, topping the Tigers in Towson, 9-2 in 2015 and 9-7 in 2014 in Hempstead.

The Tigers of Towson are 3-5 on the season with wins over Mt. St. Mary's (15-13), UMBC (8-6) and Ohio State (7-6 in OT). Their losses have come against Johns Hopkins (14-6), Georgetown (12-10), Loyola (12-8), Duke (10-8) and Denver (11-10). The Tigers average 9.00 goals per game on offense while allowing 10.50 goals per outing on defense through eight games this season.

The Tigers are led by junior Jon Mazza with 16 goals and eight assists and freshman Timmy Monahan with nine goals and seven assists. Senior Jean-Luc Chetner has added seven goals and seven assists while junior Grant Maloof has chipped in with 10 goals and one helper. Red-shirt freshman Shane Brennan has a 10.25 goals against average with 65 saves and a .520 save percentage in seven games this season. Senior Josh Miller has posted a 10.67 goals against average and a .510 save percentage in 135 minutes of action in three games in 2018.