By Steven Wolff -- STAFF WRITER Three goals from Brian von Bargen were not enough, as 12th-ranked Hofstra fell to the Providence Friars in Rhode Island, by a final score of 12-7.
The Pride was coming off a 13-5 loss to Stony Brook.
“We wanted to bounce back from the Stony Brook loss. Two games in a row, we are just not making things go our way… we need our big guns to show up and play better defense,” Hofstra head coach Seth Tierney said after the loss.
It was tough for the team to play defense against Providence’s Brendan Kearns, as he tallied six total points with three goals and three assists. Despite von Bargen’s second hat trick of the season, Hofstra found itself down 5-1 nearly 14 minutes into the contest.
With the game tied at one at the 7:47 mark in the first quarter, Providence scored five straight goals, mainly due to Pride penalties. However, a goal from Hofstra sophomore attacker Brendan Kavanagh would end the Friar run and would activate a 3-0 run for the Pride.
Going into halftime, Hofstra would be down 6-4. Each team would score once in the third quarter, but the Friars pulled away in the final period, outscoring Hofstra 5-2, to seal the five-point victory.
On the defensive end, sophomore goalie Jack Concannon had seven saves for the Pride. Also, senior defender Finn Sullivan added three ground balls and three caused turnovers.
For Providence, goalie Tate Boyce recorded 11 saves for the Friars.
Providence’s Will Mazzone started the final barrage for the Friars, as he opened the final period with a goal. The goal added to his three assists and four total points on the afternoon.
One of the main reasons the Pride fell, was because Hofstra’s season leading scorer Josh Byrne, was held scoreless on four total shots. This season, Hofstra’s winning formula has been a balanced scoring attack.
However in this game, von Bargen and Kavanagh were the only Pride players to have multiple goals. Hofstra had a lot of opportunities to break open the contest, as it outshot Providence 32-27, but could not capitalize.
“We got to go back to the drawing board, we got to figure out maybe not a game plan that we feel might not be good for us, but we got to put a game plan together that’s going to win the game,” Tierney said.
Hofstra falls to 4-3 on the season, while Providence improves to 4-3. Hofstra has played better at home this year than on the road, winning three of its first four games.
The Pride will look to rebound from its two game losing streak, when the team comes back to Hempstead to face Vermont on Tuesday. Game time is at 7 p.m. at James M. Shuart Stadium.