By Mark Walters
Heading into spring break, the Hofstra men's lacrosse team was undefeated in conference play, and two crucial Colonial Athletic Association wins later-a 12-7 win over Drexel and a 11-10 nail-biter at Towson-the same can be said with one conference game left to play.
Senior attackman Tom Dooley scored his 100th career goal in a Hofstra uniform at Towson, notching it early in the first period, which the Pride controlled 3-1.
"It was a relief," Dooley said. "To get it over with at the beginning of the game and not really have that monkey on [my] back was nice."
Both games were not without lapses of struggling, as Anthony Muscarella was penalized at the beginning of the second period against Drexel for an illegal stick, giving the Dragons an opportunity to get back in the game, tying it 4-4 by halftime.
"I've been using it all year," Muscarella said of his stick. "But if the ref saw it-39.5-you can't really say anything to change his mind, so I just took it in stride and Coach Tierney told me to get those back."
Tierney knew his team needed to respond in the third period.
"We needed the halftime to kinda regroup and start the party again and Joe Motemurro did a good job of kick-starting a couple parties for us," Tierney said.
Montemurro picked up seven ground balls, a team high, and won 13 face-offs out of 22 against the three different Dragons he met at midfield.
Muscarella pulled his weight in the second half, teaming with sophomore attacker Jay Card as the two notched three goals apiece to help fuel the Pride's 8-3 scoring advantage in the second half.
Dooley scored four times, achieving a hat-trick midway through the first period. His first goal came just 39 seconds after the opening faceoff when he caught a pass from Muscarella 10 yards out and shot it past Drexel's freshman goaltender Mark Manos. Dooley did not score again until the fourth period, when Card left with a tweaked groin, but the game was well in hand by that time.
The Pride's leading scorer said he could have returned if he was needed, but Tierney added that he didn't want Card to re-aggravate it.
In facing Towson three days later, Tierney and his team caught a break since Towson had already faced Drexel this season. They were able to watch film of both teams simultaneously and get ready for the Tigers while preparing for Drexel.
"It was a very close game and it was a well-filmed game so it was good to watch and we were able to familiarize ourselves a little bit with Towson," Tierney said.
That break could have been just what his team needed as it found itself down 9-6, and eventually 10-7 late in the fourth period at Towson's Johnny Unitas Stadium. The Pride rattled off three unanswered goals in less than two minutes, and with 10 seconds left to play, it needed something big after freshman attackman Kevin Ford dove toward the sideline to keep possession of the ball.
The original plan was for Card to get a screen from Ford and have Card win the game, but Tierney's staff figured they didn't have enough time.
"Right before the whistle blew, we changed the play and let Ryan Carter dodge to the goal," Tierney said.
Maybe Towson was expecting Card, who had not scored all game, but whatever the case it worked, and with 3.2 seconds left, Carter scored his second goal of the game, the game winner.
"The theme this year is that when the game is on the line, we seem to do a pretty good job getting it done," Card said.
Muscarella scored four goals, Ford added a hat-trick, and senior midfielder Michael Colleluori had two assists in the win, which preserved Hofstra's perfect CAA record at 5-0. The Pride is 9-1 overall, and presently ranked as high as sixth in the Nike/Inside Lacrosse Media Poll.
Notes and Quotes
For his three and four-game goals against Drexel and Towson, senior middie Anthony Muscarella was recently named CAA Player of the Week. Muscarella also tallied an assist last week. He shares the award with Delaware junior attackman Curtis Dickson, who had seven goals and three assists in the two Blue Hens' wins last week.
Michael Colleluori is a candidate for the Lowe's Senior CLASS Award, which is presented each year to the outstanding senior NCAA Division I Student-Athlete of the Year across nine different sports. The acronym CLASS stands for Celebrating Loyalty and Achievement for Staying in School. There is a link to vote for Colleluori on Hofstra's athletics main page: www.hofstra.edu/athletics.
Saturday evening at James M. Shuart Stadium, Hofstra University will honor two former Pride greats, Jerry Simandl and Doug Shanahan. Simandl, who played from 1952-1955, is the Pride's all-time point leader with 238 points. Shanahan was a three-time All-American and the first Tewaaraton Trophy winner in 2001 as college lacrosse's Player of the Year. The two will have their numbers retired during halftime ceremonies of the Pride's game against No. 10 North Carolina. Game time is 7 pm.
The fun does not stop there though, as the HEADstrong Foundation will be supported during the game as well. The Long Island Herald Community Newspapers will be the presenting game sponsor of the highly anticipated game between two of the nation's top teams. At noon Hofstra's Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) and the Nassau County Police Athletic League will be coordinating a youth tournament in support of the HEADstrong Foundation, which raises cancer awareness and fights the disease. You can learn more about the HEADstrong foundation at: www.headstrongfoundation.org.