By Kevin Carroll -- SPORTS EDITOR Sam Llinares reminded everyone why he was this season’s CAA Preseason Player of the Year, scoring five goals to lead the Pride to a 15-8 victory over St. John’s on Saturday afternoon at DaSilva Memorial Field.
Josh Byrne added four goals and three assists, and Jack Concannon saved 12 shots for the Pride, who snapped a two-game losing streak with Saturday’s victory.
“Josh and Sam were very comfortable today,” said Hofstra head coach Seth Tierney after the game. “I thought the guys really tightened their belts a little bit, and did a good job.”
Hofstra needed the defense to step up due to the absence of Kris Clarke, who missed Saturday’s game due to an illness.
Without the services of Clarke, the Pride went just 9-26 on faceoffs, forcing the team to start a lot of possessions on defense. After a rough start, the defense settled in and become a stone wall, allowing only three goals over the last three quarters, after giving up five goals in the first quarter.
That first quarter was a wild one, with the Red Storm going on the attack early, pushing two goals past Concannon to give St. John’s the 2-0 lead. Byrne, who has been a juggernaut on the attack for Hofstra this season, put the Pride on the board with his 19th goal of the season with 11:28 left to play in the quarter.
Hofstra would go on to take the lead, but St. John’s would snatch it right back, setting a tone for the rest of the quarter. Both teams tried to give themselves a little breathing room, but to no avail. A goal from the Red Storm’s Jackson O’Leary would tie the game at five at the end of the first quarter.
For most of the second quarter, it looked as though the teams would continue to remain gridlocked, with goals being traded back-and-forth for the first couple of minutes.
Then, with St. John’s holding a slim 7-6 lead with just 6:38 left in the half, Hofstra erupted, scoring four goals to take a 10-7 lead into halftime. Trevor Kupecky accounted for two of those goals, while Korey Hendrickson and Byrne added the other two. The three-goal lead was the largest of the game for any team, up to that point.
But Hofstra wasn’t done, continuing to put the ball past the St. John’s goalie to open up a commanding 13-7 heading into the final quarter. The Red Storm was held scoreless in the third quarter, as the Pride defense turned away attack after attack.
The Red Storm would add a goal in the fourth, but insurance goals from Brian von Bargen and Llinares locked up the win for the Pride.
“Our defense gave us the momentum,” said Tierney.
Hofstra improves to 6-3 with the win, while St. John’s falls to 1-8
The Pride returns to action on Saturday, April 2, hosting Fairfield University at 7 p.m. at Shuart Stadium. The game will mark the beginning of CAA play for the Pride.