By Regina Volpe -- STAFF WRITER After a neck-and-neck contest, Hofstra men’s lacrosse picked up a win over the University of Massachusetts 10-9 in Amherst this past Saturday.
Both teams had their seasons on the line going into this contest. Hofstra, tied at second in the standings, needed the win to grab a spot in the CAA tournament for the first time since 2014, while UMass needed a win to keep its CAA tournament hopes alive.
“They were fighting for their lives in the CAA, which makes them really dangerous; and we were fighting to punch a ticket to get into the CAA tournament,” said Hofstra head coach Seth Tierney after the game.
Hofstra’s offense, specifically the midfielders, has been stepping up these past few games, and Saturday’s contest was no exception. Brendan Kavanagh and Dylan Alderman, along with Korey Hendrickson and Zachary Franco, earned half of the Pride’s goals.
The game-winning shot came from Kavanagh, giving Hofstra its third consecutive win.
The Minutemen exploded from the start, scoring twice within the first 20 seconds of the first quarter. Hofstra responded with back-to-back goals from Josh Byrne and Trevor Kupecky to tie things up at two.
Goalkeeper Jack Concannon did not get discouraged by UMass’s aggressive offense. Protecting the goal, he racked up 12 saves.
Sophomore Alderman came back from a five-game dry spell to score twice, putting the Pride ahead of UMass, 4-3.
The Minutemen got two consecutive goals starting the second from Tyler Bogart and Ben Spencer to take the lead, but the Pride closed the deficit quickly.
Hofstra was ahead 6-5 at the end of the second period.
Coming out of halftime, UMass returned at the same intensity it began with. Gianni Bianchin and Brendan Hegarty closed the two-point deficit to tie things up at seven.
A goal from Dan Muller earned the Minutemen the lead to close the third period. UMass kept the lead for most of the last period, but Franco got the goal for Hofstra to tie the game.
Senior Sam Llinares broke the tie with his 100th career goal. After his goal, Hofstra attempted to stretch the lead, but to no avail.
UMass was able to clear and called a timeout after a shot. Buddy Carr scored his first goal of the game to send it into overtime.
Hofstra won the faceoff to get possession for overtime, but two early shots that Brian von Bargen and Byrne made were no good.
The Minutemen got the ball, but could not get a shot in before Liam Blohm got the ball back for the Pride.
Kavanagh, with 14 seconds left, took the winning shot to earn the win for the Pride.
“[Kavanagh] was committed, and once he found out that he had a little bit of a lane, there wasn’t anything that would stop him,” said Tierney on the sophomore’s game-winning goal.
With this win, Hofstra (3-1 CAA) is now second in the CAA standings and has a seat in the CAA tournament. They have a 9-4 record for the season overall. UMass (0-4) sits last in the standings with a 4-8 record overall.
The Pride takes the field for the last time this regular season against the Towson Tigers at James M. Shuart Stadium on Saturday, April 30 at 1 p.m.