Pride swallowed by Syracuse

The Syracuse Orange brought cold and snowy weather with them in their Tuesday evening matchup against the Hofstra Pride on March 14, handing Hofstra a 16-8 loss while ending their own four-game losing streak.

“Certainly disappointed in the final score,” said Hofstra men’s lacrosse head coach Set Tierney. “Clearing, extra-man [opportunities] and turnovers really got us tonight.”

Hofstra was first on the board with a Justin Sykes goal just 79 seconds into the opening frame. Sykes made it a 2-0 game with added help from Griffin Turner.

John Madsen added the third goal exactly six minutes in, showcasing his ability to lead the team’s offense. 

The two teams traded 3-0 runs, because Jackson Birtwistle and Owen Hiltz combined for three goals in just under three minutes for a stalemate until Rory Jones added his name to the scoresheet with 76 seconds to go in the period.

That lead didn’t stay for long, as Syracuse’s Michael Leo made the game equal once again at 4-4. The Orange weren’t content with going into the second quarter even, so Saam Olexo snaked a buzzer-beater goal past Hofstra goalie Mac Gates.

Syracuse opened the second quarter on their terms with Finn Thomson cashing in a goal just a minute in. Alex Simmons added insult to injury for the Pride at the 6:14 mark, changing the scoreboard to 7-4.

The Orange opened the third quarter in the same fashion that they opened the second, scoring back-to-back goals within the opening two minutes, bringing the score to 9-4.

Hofstra’s Colton Rudd broke the scoring drought and netting a goal from the left wing of the crease. Orange attacker Joey Spallina responded with his second goal of the game, making the score 11-5.

The two squads traded another goal each, courtesy of Jones and Thomson for the Pride and Orange respectively, inflated the score to 12-6.

Save for the first, Syracuse established a pattern for opening quarters by scoring early, as proven by Michael Leo’s second goal of the game just over two minutes into the fourth. Hofstra’s Matt Elder promptly responded with a goal of his own just 19 seconds later, keeping the score at 13-7. The Orange increased their lead to seven when Cole Kirst’s feed converted to Spallina, allowing him to complete a hat trick tonight.

Hofstra’s Danny DeSanti found the back of the next with just under nine minutes to go, marking his second goal of the season for the Pride. Hiltz completed a hat trick of his own, bringing the scoring gap to seven, with the game at 15-8.

Spallina had the final say of the game, scoring the final goal of the evening with three minutes to go.

“This was our last dress rehearsal before conference play starts,” Tierney said. “So we got to see who’s nicked up and put together some game planning for Fairfield for Saturday.”

The next time the Pride take the pitch will be on Saturday, March 18, against the Fairfield University Stags in Colonial Athletic Association play. Initial draw control is at 7 p.m.

Photo courtesy of Lee Weissman/Hofstra Athletics