Hempstead, NY - Down by one entering the fourth quarter, the Hofstra men's lacrosse team put three straight in the back of the net, with a goal by sophomore Ryan Sheridan sealing the upset win of #12 Delaware in the Colonial Athletic Association Championship Semifinal by a 10-9 score.

With the score tied at 8-8 in the opening moments of the fourth quarter followed by a goal from senior James Philbin, senior Dylan McIntosh gave Hofstra the lead at 11:22 when he ripped one past the Delaware goalie and into the back of the net for the Pride's first lead since midway through the third quarter. Sheridan added the insurance goal at 9:52 with an inside roll after attacking left from behind the goal.

The four-seed in this year's CAA Championship, the Pride improves to 8-5 on the year as they advance to the CAA Championship Final for the first time since 2014. Delaware, the top-seed in the Championship, ends its year at 10-3 overall.

Delaware started off today's game with a pair of goals to go ahead early, but the Pride came back with a pair of their own goals by McIntosh and junior Sterlyn Ardrey inside the final 40 seconds to put the score at 2-2 at the end of the first quarter. The Pride continued the scoring into the second quarter with four straight goals to jump ahead 6-2. McIntosh completed his hat-trick with three straight tallies, and Philbin buried his first with 2:34 to go before halftime. A Delaware strike put the Pride ahead, 6-3, entering the break.

Two quick Delaware goals cut the Hofstra lead to one, but Sheridan muscled his way past a Delaware defender and into a prime shooting shot, and the tall midfielder tickled the twine to give the hosts a two-goal advantage. Three Delaware goals in 3:30 span put the Blue Hens ahead, 8-7, entering the final frame.

Philbin leveled the score at 13:18 of the fourth quarter when he came from behind the net to the left post and finished top side. Sheridan's fifth of the day put the Pride ahead, and Sheridan's second gave Hofstra a two-goal cushion. Delaware made it a one-score game with a goal at 8:45, but stellar defense and excellent goalkeeping by redshirt senior Bobby Casey sealed the victory for Hofstra.

McIntosh set a new season-best with his five-goal outing today, with four of his goals coming in the first half. Philbin and Sheridan found the back of the net twice each, and Ardrey added one goal to his tally. Seniors Keegan Santos and Corey Kale and junior Daniel Ochs all caused one turnover each, while Casey and senior Brian Herber led the team with five ground balls apiece. In between the pipes, Casey made 11 stops against Delaware, with eight of those saves coming in the first half.

Charlie Kitchen score three and assisted two for five points on the day, while Matt Acchione added two for the visitors. Matt Kilkerry made seven saves in the loss for Delaware.

Two-seed Drexel (9-2) will be the opponent for the Pride in Saturday's CAA Championship Final on Saturday, May 8, at 1 p.m. The game will be aired live on the Lax Sports Network, and live stats will be available on GoHofstra.com.

NOTES:
-Hofstra improves to 31-15 all-time against Delaware. Today's win snaps a three-game losing streak to the Fightin' Blue Hens.
-All 10 of Hofstra's goals were unassisted. It is the first time since a 2018 loss to Villanova that Hofstra did not record a single assist.
-Hofstra went 10-23 on face-offs, while Drexel was 13-23. Herber led the Pride with 10-23 from the circle.
-The Pride was outshot, 45-31, and had 17 shots on goal to Delaware's 20.