Hofstra men's lacrosse wins crucial CAA game over Delaware in first event at New Meadowlands Stadium

Saturday afternoon provided the unique opportunity for the Hofstra men’s lacrosse team to take part in the first event at the New Meadowlands Stadium but more importantly the contest versus Delaware was a must-win Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) game to maintain hopes of reaching the conference playoffs. After dropping its first two CAA games the Pride played with a sense of urgency against Delaware posting a 12-11 win to keep its postseason hopes very much alive with three weeks left in the regular season.

“Hofstra lacrosse lives to see another day with the destiny in their own hands,” said a relieved Hofstra men’s lacrosse head coach Seth Tierney after his team held on for a one goal win after leading 12-8 with less than seven minutes left in the game. “They knew what was on the line and they know what is on the line.”

The win over Delaware moves Hofstra (7-3, 1-2 in CAA) into fourth place in the conference standings with key contests at Penn State next week and home versus Towson on May 1 in the rear view mirror. The top four in the six-team CAA reach the conference playoffs for the right to capture league’s automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament, something Hofstra has never failed to achieve.

Return of Jay Card aids Hofstra men's lacrosse blowout win over Army

One week after suffering an ankle injury during a 13-4 win at St. John’s, Hofstra junior attackman Jay Card had a triumphant return to the lacrosse field against Army. Card scored five goals and dished out eight assists to lead eighth ranked Hofstra to a 17-2 blowout over Army before a rain soaked crowd of 1,073 at Shuart Stadium.

“It’s a little sore but I give all the credit to our trainer Robert Sullivan,” said Card in the post game press conference of his recovery from last week’s injury. “He did a great job getting me back on the field in less than a week.”

Card’s return to the Hofstra offense came after missing last Saturday’s 11-9 loss at Massachusetts in the Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) opener. Having Card back into the offensive mix is critical for Hofstra (5-2) as it next faces a crucial CAA road game at 11th ranked Drexel on Saturday.

Hofstra men's lacrosse gears up for pre-season scrimmages without injured Kevin Ford

Coming off back-to-back NCAA Tournament appearances there are high expectations for the Hofstra men’s lacrosse team this year but the Pride offense will be faced with a tough challenge to start 2010 when it is without one of its key scorers during the first month of the season.

Junior attackman Kevin Ford, the Pride's third-leading scorer a year ago, broke his foot during pre-season conditioning and will be out until at least the end of March after having surgery in mid January.  Junior Stephen Bentz will fill in for Ford at attack during the beginning of the season and head coach Seth Tierney has been happy with how the Massapequa High School graduate, who tallied six goals last year, has stepped up to the challenge so far.   

Tierney will get a first chance to view Hofstra’s attack minus Ford in game action this Sunday when the Pride plays two scrimmages in the Carrier Dome against defending national champion Syracuse and Division II power Le Moyne. These two scrimmages along with pre-season tilts at Rutgers on Feb. 13 and home versus Yale on Feb. 20 will also allow star Canadian attackers Jay Card and University of Denver transfer Jamie Lincoln to start to gel into what Tierney hopes will be an explosive offense.