By Max Sass, Sports Editor
Hofstra lacrosse has proven to be an offensive juggernaut this season and its dominant attack has jolted the team to the top six in the national rankings. Much of the credit goes to All–American candidate Jay Card but even more may go to junior Jamie Lincoln in his first year with the Pride.
While Card earns deserved national attention, Lincoln is on his way to gaining the widespread recognition his play deserves. The Ontario native has scored 17 goals through five games and added 13 assists as well.
Lincoln's success has not gone to his head though as he credits most of his success to those around him. "I give all the credit to our offense," Lincoln said. "We are all on the same page, play high intensity run and gun."
Lincoln has been able to practice for years now starting almost as soon as he was able to walk. "I have been playing lacrosse since I was like three years old and you kind of learn the tricks of the trade after 20 years."
Lincoln honed his skills in Canada playing box lacrosse, a modified version of traditional lacrosse that is played indoors on a smaller court. Box lacrosse forces the players to work quicker in tight spaces and emphasizes skill over athleticism. The melding of American and Canadian styles has benefitted Lincoln. "We obviously lack field lacrosse skills as far as dodging, one on one skills and shooting on the run and using your wrong hand and stuff so coming here helps us learn all that kind of stuff," said Lincoln.
Even though Lincoln is a junior, he is only in his first year at Hofstra. Lincoln played for two years at Denver University before transferring. Lincoln scored 48 goals as a freshman and was named an All-America honorable mention. "Freshman year it was pretty smooth," Lincoln said. "I would consider myself a go-to guy. I was scoring lots of goals, scoring lots of points. It obviously does wonders for your attitude and your swagger as a lacrosse player."
Before he left Denver, his sophomore year was the most difficult one of his life. "My sophomore year did not go as smoothly [as freshman year] so I didn't see a lot of playing time," Lincoln said, "so obviously I got frustrated and my attitude changed."
Lincoln did not classify his frustration as rebelling, but knew he let it get the best of him. "Personally, I had never sat on the bench in my entire life so that was really frustrating," he said. He ended his second year in Denver with five goals and two assists.
Lincoln struggled through his second year and eventually was kicked off the team for a violation of team policy. "I would kind of prefer not to talk about it," Lincoln said. "It is in the past. It was a year that I would obviously like to take back."
Coach Seth Tierney gave Lincoln a second chance at to play division one lacrosse. "I appreciate every minute I have here because it could have been just as easy to not be playing anywhere," Lincoln said. "I am super grateful for Coach T giving me another chance more than anything."
Though Lincoln has been towards the top of offensive statistical categories this season and was just added to the Tewaaraton Award watch list, he does not consider scoring goals to be a top priority, unless it helps the team win. "As long as we are winning games and everything goes right I don't really care if I have one goal [or] no goals," Lincoln said.
Tierney's choice to give Lincoln a second chance has paid off for the Pride. Whether playing in Canada or at Shuart Stadium in front of the Pride faithful, Lincoln just wants to play lacrosse. "Whether it is field lacrosse or box lacrosse it is still lacrosse," Lincoln said. Pride fans are glad to have Lincoln and his goal scoring talent on their field.