Hempstead, NY – With the temperature as cold as 22 degrees and the wind swirling inside Shuart Stadium, the Hofstra men's lacrosse team suffered a 16-8 defeat to visiting Syracuse in the final non-conference game of the 2023 season for the Pride.
 
Hofstra slips to 2-5 after Tuesday night's defeat, and Syracuse moves to 4-4 on the year.
 
Justin Sykes and Rory Jones finished with two goals each for Hofstra, while Jones would add an assist to give him three points on the night. John Madsen scored once and assisted twice for three points, and the Pride saw Colton Rudd, Matt Elder, and Danny DeSanti all finish with one goal apiece. Mac Gates made 12 saves for the Pride.
 
The Pride came out of the gates hot with the first three goals of the contest, with Sykes scoring the night's first two goals, and Madsen finishing off a pass from Trey Parkes, to make it a 3-0 Hofstra lead six minutes into the opening quarter. The Orange responded with three straight goals of their own to even the game with 2:09 left in the quarter. Jones scored on a man-up opportunity at 1:16 to pull ahead by one, but it would be the last goal Hofstra would score in the first half as the Syracuse defense clamped down on Hofstra. The Orange scored two goals inside the final 10 seconds of the first quarter, including a goal by long-stick midfielder Saam Olexo with no time on the clock, to make it a 5-4 Syracuse lead.
 
The Orange continued to keep Hofstra off the scoreboard in the second quarter, while two even-strength goals gave Syracuse a 7-4 lead going into halftime. The Orange opened the third quarter with two goals inside the first five minutes, followed by a goal at 9:20, to put Syracuse on top, 10-4. The Pride finally broke the scoring drought at 9:11 of the quarter with a goal by Rudd, and his tally was followed by a second man-up goal by Jones, but the Orange responded to both goals to put the score at 12-6 at the end of three quarters.
 
Elder and DeSanti both scored unassisted goals in the fourth quarter, with Elder scoring at 12:23 and DeSanti at the 8:52 mark, before the final horn sounded at Shuart Stadium.
 
Joey Spallina led all players with four goals and three assists in tonight's game. Owen Hiltz finished with three goals and three assists for the Orange, and Will Mark picked up the win with 13 saves.
 
Hofstra opens its Colonial Athletic Association schedule on Saturday, March 18, against Fairfield (2-5). Opening face-off is scheduled for 7 p.m.
 
NOTES:
-Syracuse is now 13-4 all-time against Hofstra. This was the 17th meeting between the two programs, and the first since 2003.
-Hofstra outshot Syracuse, 51-48, and held a 32-19 advantage over the Orange in groundballs.
-Chase Patterson went 19-28 from the face-off circle with a game-high 11 ground balls for the hosts.