One of the all-time greats for Hofstra men’s lacrosse was attackman Sam Llinares. He set the bar high his freshman year, scoring 19 goals and having 13 assists. Llinares was named Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) Player of the Year two years later. He finished his career in the Dutch Dome with 101 goals and 181 points.
Many saw Llinares as the Messiah, the king of Hofstra lacrosse. Well, there’s a new king in town and his name is Ryan Tierney.
Tierney, son of head coach Seth Tierney, is the future of the Hofstra Pride. Throughout 12 games, Tierney has 26 goals and 15 assists, already surpassing Llinares’ freshman year stats with the season not yet over.
Tierney has five hat tricks already this season, including one in his first collegiate contest.
He is on a 12-game point streak and was held without a goal only once in his young career against Providence College, where he had one assist.
He is also second on the team in goals, assists, points and shots.
Tierney comes to the Pride with a great resume already: a two-time All-American, James C. Metzger Leadership Award from Nassau County and a high school State Championship in 2014.
Tierney has been living and breathing lacrosse for most of his life, in large part because of his father.
He grew up watching his dad as part of the Johns Hopkins University coaching staff, and then as head coach of the Pride.
With the Blue Jays, Tierney was the architect of one of the most potent offenses in the country. This clearly had an effect on Ryan, as he had 146 points in his last two years of high school.
With the loss of Trevor Kupecky for the season, Tierney was put into the lineup and excelled right away.
Learning under the wing of Josh Byrne, one of the top players in the nation, Tierney is slowly ascending to the top.
He is fourth in the conference in goals per game (2.17), fourth in assists per game (1.25) and fourth in points per game (3.42).
Hands down, Tierney is one of the top freshmen in the conference and is on his way to winning the CAA Rookie of the Year.
When he has the ball in his stick, he’s able to control the pace of the game. Tierney can dominate even the best of defenders, embarrassing them on the field. When you think he has no angle for a shot, he proves you wrong and is able to score from anywhere. Tierney has a natural ability to find the back of the net and an even better ability to find his teammates.
With Byrne graduating after this season, the Pride needs a player to lean on. Tierney is prepared to take the lead of this team, with potential of winning CAA Player of the Year in the future. With the CAA and NCAA tournament, Tierney can continue to build his lore, ascending the program ladder to become one of Hofstra’s all-time greats.