Hempstead, NY –The Hofstra Men's Lacrosse team will head out to Philadelphia on Saturday, April 21 when the Pride take on the Drexel Dragons in a key Colonial Athletic Association contest at Vidas Field that could help shape the 2018 CAA Championship in two weeks. Game time for the HEADstrong Foundation Hero Bowl tilt is 2 p.m.
 
Drexel will provide a live video stream and live stats of the contest on Saturday. Both links are available on this page as well as on the men's lacrosse schedule page at GoHofstra.com.

Hofstra is 5-6 on the season and 1-2 in the CAA and coming off another heartbreaking one-goal loss to Delaware on April 14 at James M. Shuart Stadium. The Pride spotted the Blue Hens a 6-1 lead in the first quarter before rallying to tie the game at 9-9 early in the fourth. But Delaware took the lead on Charlie Kitchen's fifth goal of the game with 6:05 to play. The Pride had several attempts but could not get the equalizer and fell to the Blue Hens, 10-9. Sophomore Ryan Tierney led the Pride with four goals while senior Dylan Alderman added two goals and one assist and junior Jimmy Yanes chipped in with a goal and two assists. Senior Jack Concannon made 10 saves in the Pride goal.

On the season, Hofstra allows only 7.09 goals per game while scoring 8.36 goals per outing. The Pride also leads the nation in defense. Hofstra has six players in double-figures in points through 11 games as Tierney leads the team with 44 points on 23 goals and 21 assists. Yanes has 27 points on 17 goals and 10 assists while freshman Dylan McIntosh has 18 goals and one assist. Alderman, who missed four games this season with an injury, has eight goals and nine assists in seven games. Sophomore Kyle Gallagher, after winning 16-of-22 face-offs against Delaware, is now 114-for-191 for a .597 winning percentage, while also picking up a team-best 78 ground balls and scoring twice. He ranks 13^th in face-off winning percentage and 10^th in ground balls per game. Concannon, who was selected by the Florida Launch in the fourth round of Major League Lacrosse Collegiate Draft Wednesday night, ranks second in the nation on goals against average with a 7.03 slate and is ninth in save percentage with a .570 mark with 102 saves.

The Dragons of Drexel enter the weekend with a 5-6 overall record and a 1-2 slate in the CAA. The Dragons have wins over Marist (15-5), Bryant (12-9), Georgetown (15-10), Providence (11-10 in 2OTs) and Fairfield (16-14). Their losses have come against Virginia (13-8), Albany (18-5), Villanova (12-9), Saint Joseph's (10-9), UMass (11-10) and Towson (17-9). The Dragons average 10.82 goals per game while allowing 11.73 goals per outing.

Drexel is led in scoring by sophomore Matthew Varian with 23 goals and 18 assists for 41 points. Sophomore Reid Bowering has added 24 goals and seven assists while junior Marshal King has tallied 17 goals and nine assists. Senior Will Manganiello has chipped in with 13 goals and three assists. Chre Teitelbaum has a 10.58 goals against average with 95 saves and a .492 save percentage in 10 games in the Drexel goal.
 
Drexel and the Pride will be meeting for the 32nd time. Hofstra leads the series, 23-8 but Drexel has won five of the last eight meetings. The Dragons won the last meeting between the two programs on April 15, 2017 in Hempstead, 13-12. The Pride won the last encounter, 10-4 in Philadelphia on April 16, 2016. Ten of the last 13 contests between Hofstra and Drexel have been decided by two goals or less. The other three games-all Hofstra wins-were decided by five or more goals.

Heading into the weekend, UMass is on top of the CAA standings with a 3-0 record. Delaware is second with a 2-1 slate and is followed by a four-way logjam between Hofstra, Fairfield, Towson and Drexel at 1-2. The top four teams from the regular season advance to the CAA Championship Tournament on May 3-5 at the regular season top seed.