By Jeff Werner - Staff Writer The Hofstra Pride men’s lacrosse team knew they were underdogs coming into Saturday’s matchup at Johnny Unitas Stadium in Towson, Maryland against the eighteenth-ranked Towson Tigers. But regardless, the Pride accomplished a much-needed 9-2 win.
Like most of the season, the strength for the Pride has been the offense, and that certainly was the case against Towson. Team leading-scorer Sam Llinares led the way for the Pride contributing an impressive four goals against Towson, bringing his total goals on the season to 32. Also carrying the load offensively was Korey Hendrickson and sophomore attacker Trevor Kupecky, both scoring two goals. Rounding out the scoring for Hofstra was Brier Davis, scoring his fourteenth goal on the season on an extra-man opportunity.
Chris Selva managed to find his way back into goal after Jack Concannon was given the start in goal last week against Cornell, who scored on Concannon fourteen times. Selva didn’t disappoint in his second chance, as he was able to hold the Tigers to two goals by making fourteen saves. Concannon also saw some playing time in the fourth period and saved two shots and allowed no goals.
The Pride’s season prior to this matchup has been quite a disappointment. They were only able to gain one victory out of their first five games, and then go on a three-game losing streak in a crucial part of the schedule which featured CAA opponent Drexel. With eight losses, there is beyond a doubt that Hofstra will not be able to end the season with an even record, but this team needed to salvage whatever was left of the season, starting with Towson.
With this win, the Pride improved to 5-8 on the season and 2-2 in CAA play, which is important as the CAA semifinals get closer. They will be given a chance to get one more conference win next Saturday as Hofstra travels to Fairfield, Connecticut to take on the Stags of Fairfield University in their final game of the regular season. That game will be played at 7 pm.