Men's lacrosse squeaks past Towson in defensive battle

A strong defensive effort and three goals by Justin Sykes pushed the Hofstra men's lacrosse team to an 8-7 victory over the Towson University Tigers on Saturday, April 3 at the James M. Shuart Stadium.

Senior Day didn’t happen last year due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but this year the team's seniors had the chance to be on the field with their families in attendance as the Pride hosted the Tigers.

Both teams traded possessions of the ball in the opening minutes, but with 12:07 left in the first period, Austin Stewart gave Towson a one-goal lead to start the scoring for the afternoon. 

As both teams continued to battle, Colton Rudd got the Pride even with the Tigers with his fourth goal of the season. In the closing moments of the first, he gave Hofstra a one-goal lead heading into the second period.

The Pride opened the second with an early three-goal run as Sykes, James Philbin and Bryce Tolmie ballooned Hofstra’s lead to four.

After a Pride turnover, the Tigers capitalized as Jake McLean brought the Towson deficit to three goals with 2:28 remaining in the half.

Heading into halftime, the Pride led the Tigers 5-2.

Towson opened the third period on a run as Brody McLean and Tim Montgomery brought the Tigers to within a goal of the Pride. 

With 1:40 remaining in the period, Ryan Tierney gave the Pride some breathing room with his 31st goal of the season, extending the lead to 6-4 heading into the final period.

After a penalty on Pride defenseman Logan Danenza, Andrew Milani had his first goal of the game bringing the Tigers back to within a goal.  

After several minutes of both teams trading possessions, Brody McLean’s second goal tied the Tigers with the Pride with 7:17 remaining in the period.

Brian Herber won the following faceoff for the Pride, and a little over one minute into the possession, Sykes chipped in his second goal of the game, once again giving Hofstra a one-point lead.

After Herber won his second straight faceoff, the ball was in Ryan Tierney’s possession, and he found Sykes right in front of the net for his third goal of the afternoon. The score gave the Pride a two-goal lead with 5:48 remaining.

A little over one minute later, Ryan Swain cut the Tigers' deficit to a goal with 4:33 remaining.

The game was close, and the score stayed at 8-7 down the stretch as Hofstra was looking for several defensive stops.

With 27 seconds remaining, Keegan Santos was called for a slashing penalty, putting the Pride in a man-down situation for the rest of the period.

With Towson in possession, defenseman Michael Altmann was able to cause a turnover on the Tigers and run down the clock as Hofstra moved to 2-1 in Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) play.  

“I’m really proud of the [defense]," said Hofstra head coach Seth Tierney. "We talked about it at practice this week where we didn’t have a save in the second half last week.”

Bobby Casey got the win for the Pride as he had 12 saves on the afternoon. Tierney had one goal and three assists, while Sykes led the Pride in goals with three on the afternoon. Herber went 13-18 in the faceoff circle while leading the team with 10 ground balls. Altmann led the Pride with two caused turnovers.

 “This senior group is also [my son Ryan Tierney's] friends so there is a special connection because he spent so much time with these guys," Seth Tierney said. "It’s a brother connection. When it’s over, I’m looking forward to being friends with this group.”

The Pride plans to stay on track as they are scheduled to face the University of Massachusetts on Friday, April 9 in more CAA play. Faceoff is scheduled for 5 p.m.

Photo Courtesy of Adam Flash/The Hofstra Chronicle