Pecora leaves behind proud era of Hofstra basketball

 Courtesy Hofstra Athletic Communications

The Tom Pecora era at Hofstra drew to a close today when the longtime men's basketball coach accepted the head coaching position at Fordham. While this day is filled with much sadness from many Pride fans it is important to reflect on what Pecora has meant to Hofstra men's basketball and the university as a whole since first arriving in Hempstead 16 years ago.

When Pecora's stint began before the 1994/95 season as Jay Wright's top assistant the then Flying Dutchmen were ranked one of the lowest teams in Division I. Five years later thanks to tireless recruiting by Pecora to land future NBA players Craig "Speedy" Claxton and Norman Richardson, Hofstra made the national spotlight with back-to-back appearances in the NCAA Tournament after capturing America East titles held before packed home crowds on ESPN in 2000 and 2001.

After the Pride's 2001 NCAA run that included a near upset of UCLA in the first round, Wright landed at Big East power Villanova and Pecora was handed the keys to the program that only returned one starter and was about to enter a more challenging conference in the Colonial Athletic Association (CAA). Hofstra was under .500 the first three years of the Pecora era but by the 2004/2005 season the Pride were CAA contenders and made its first of three straight NIT appearances.   

Hofstra softball continues hot play in first home games of 2010

After playing its first 13 games on the road the Hofstra softball team was excited for some home cooking this weekend, especially freshman pitcher Olivia Galati, who attended many Pride games growing up in West Babylon. Galati did not disappoint her many friends and family who flocked to Hofstra Softball Stadium Saturday and Sunday as the St. John the Baptist product tossed 23 strikeouts in victories over Connecticut and Boston University to help the Pride improve to 13-4.

 “It is seriously like a dream come true" said Galati of her Hofstra Softball Stadium debut as a college player. "I’ve been looking to come here and I’ve been coming to games my whole life here and to actually step on the field and say this is my home field is really, really cool."

Galati’s efforts helped the Pride win three of four games in the Hofstra Invitational and remain hot in non-conference play. She earned Sunday’s 2-1 win over BU thanks to a walk-off home run from junior third baseman Sarah Michalowski in the bottom of the seventh after Michele DePasquale tied it in the sixth with an RBI double. Coming into the Hofstra Invitational the Pride were ranked 23rd in the Ultimate College Softball  top 25 poll after achieving several impressive wins at tournaments in Tampa, Fla, Columbus, Ga. and Louisville, Ky.

Hofstra men's lacrosse continues winning ways over Sacred Heart

Coming off an impressive 14-6 win over seventh-ranked Johns Hopkins last week the Hofstra men’s lacrosse came into Saturday afternoon’s home game with Sacred Heart focused on not looking past the Pioneers, who were 1-4 after a 17-7 loss to a first year Jacksonville program. Last year in similar circumstances Hofstra defeated third-ranked Princeton 9-7 but the following week squeaked by Sacred Heart 6-5 and head coach Seth Tierney tried to implore to his players how tough a game the Pioneers would bring to Shuart Stadium. 

Despite Coach Tierney’s message to take Sacred Heart seriously the Pride found themselves trailing 4-3 early in the second quarter before waking up with a 6-0 run to pull away for a 14-6 win. Sixth ranked Hofstra (3-1) has now won three in a row at home after dropping its season opener at Princeton 17-14.

“This is Division I lacrosse and if you don’t bring it everyday it is just not going to work for you,” said Tierney in the post game press conference of how strong of a team Sacred Heart is despite its 1-5 record. “They are a very well coached team.”

The win before 1,502 fans on a beautiful first day of spring at Shuart Stadium keeps Hofstra’s perfect record (9-0) intact against Sacred Heart but not before some barn burners over the years including a 10-9 overtime triumph in 2003 two days after the Pride had defeated seventh- ranked Syracuse.

Hofstra men's basketball season ends with first round CBI loss to IUPUI

Hofstra’s hot end to the 2009/2010 regular season that included winning 10 of 11 games before dropping a double overtime heartbreaker to Northeastern in the Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) quarterfinals fizzled Wednesday night in the first round of the College Basketball Invitational (CBI) against IUPUI. The Pride were never able to recover from falling into an early 21-2 hole and saw its season end with a 74-60 loss in its first ever CBI game held before a tiny crowd of 952 fans at the Mack Sports Complex.

“I don’t know if we’ve ever come out that flat in all my time here,” said ninth year Hofstra men’s basketball head coach Tom Pecora. “Once the momentum is going in the other direction it’s hard to get it to stop.”

IUPUI (Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis) held momentum for nearly the entire game with Hofstra (19-15) never getting any closer than six while shooting 36-percent including 2-19 from three-point range. The Pride were without the services of junior power forward Greg Washington due to an ankle injury.

IUPUI’s win over Hofstra moves the Jaguars onto the CBI quarterfinals to face Princeton on Monday March 22.

Hofstra baseball has positive outlook heading into home opener despite slow start

Despite an 0-9 start that has featured some close losses against stiff competition, the Hofstra baseball team has a positive mindset heading into its home opener against New York Tech at 3 p.m. tomorrow.

"We've been going through practice paying attention to detail with every little thing we have done," said second year Hofstra baseball head coach Patrick Anderson. "These kids are really hungry."

Hofstra's early schedule featured three game sweeps at second-ranked Florida State, Maryland and Troy University. Hofstra held leads in the fourth inning in three of those nine losses.

The New York Tech game was added to the schedule after the Pride had a three games in the Philadelphia area rained out last weekend against Villanova, Temple and St. Joseph's. "When we lose games we want to be able to pick up some games and prepare ourselves and play as much as possible," said Anderson.

Fans who attend Thursday afternoon's home opener at University Field will notice construction of a new grandstand that is expected to be completed in the next month. The new grandstand is scheduled to be officially dedicated on Sunday April 18 just prior to Hofstra's game against Virginia Commonwealth.

"The upgrade and the facelift is just going to help all the way around with the atmosphere," said Anderson. "It is going to look really nice."

Hofstra will continue its stretch of home games this weekend with a pair of doubleheaders on Saturday and Sunday against Fairfield starting at Noon both days. The Pride's Colonial Athletic Association opener is scheduled for April 2 at Northeastern.

Hofstra men's lacrosse wins convincingly over seventh ranked Johns Hopkins

In the Hofstra men’s lacrosse team's first two games against Princeton and Brown the Pride gave up a combined 29 goals leaving an unhappy taste in the mouth of head coach Seth Tierney.  Saturday night against seventh-ranked Johns Hopkins however saw a major defensive turnaround with the Pride holding the Blue Jays to only two goals in the first half in route to a dominant 14-6 victory at a rain-soaked Shuart Stadium.

“Sometimes you’ve got to skin your knee to know that it hurts when you fall and the first two games weren’t happy,” said Tierney in the post game press conference in reference to his team’s first two games that featured a 17-14 loss at Princeton and 15-12 home win over Brown. “[Against Johns Hopkins] we were locked in.”

Tenth ranked Hofstra (2-1) outshot Johns Hopkins (4-2)  34-19, forced 16 turnovers and five failed clears in the game played during tropical storm force winds and heavy rain before 1,245 fans. The winds were so heavy at the beginning of the game that it caused a power failure with the Shuart Stadium lights and a 14 minute delay in the first quarter with Hofstra leading 3-1. It was the third Hofstra-Johns Hopkins meeting at Shuart Stadium in the last 10 years where inclement weather impacted the game with the others coming in 2000 and 2008.

Hofstra to host 2011 NCAA Men's Lacrosse Quarterfinals

The NCAA announced today that Hofstra University's Shuart Stadium has been selected as one of two sites that will be hosting the 2011 Division I Men's Lacrosse Quarterfinals on Saturday May 21, 2011. This is outstanding news for Hofstra as well as the men's lacrosse program, which will have a team loaded with talent next year that will have a solid chance at playing on its home field for a shot to advance to the Final Four. On May 16, 2009 Hofstra hosted the quarterfinals for the first time since 2002 after the administration was able to work out a logistical plan to hold the Spring graduation later in the afternoon the next day that same weekend. Hofstra previously hosted the quarterfinals from 1997-1999 and 2001-2002 and three times has drawn over 10,000 fans for  the event. Hofstra athletic director Jack Hayes and president Stuart Rabinowitz should be applauded for their commitment to returning this great college lacrosse event back to Hempstead on a regular basis.

Hofstra women's basketball team's upcoming CAA Tourney has special meaning for Nicole Capurso

Courtesy Hofstra Athletic Communications

The Hofstra women’s basketball team is preparing for its first round Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) Tournament game against William & Mary this Thursday, an event that will have a particular special meaning to sophomore guard Nicole Capurso, who was forced to miss last year’s postseason with a torn meniscus.

Last year Hofstra also matched up against William & Mary in its opening CAA tourney game and Capurso could only watch from the bench as the Pride let a lead 10 point lead slip away in a 63-62 loss in which the Tribe scored the game’s final 11 points. 

"It’s a do-over for our team so we’re going to take full advantage of that,” said Capurso of the Pride being matched against William & Mary for the second year in a row in the CAA Tournament first round. “We feel last year we didn’t give our best in the CAA Tournament and this year we can come back and do what we know we can do against William & Mary.”

Hofstra (18-12, 11-7 in the CAA) enters the postseason winners of eight of 10 but is coming off a 59-41 loss at Delaware that denied the Pride a chance of a first round bye and instead set them up as the number six seed.  “This is just one more hurdle we have to jump,” said Capurso of the Pride having to win four games rather than three to obtain the program’s first trip to the NCAA Tournament. 

New starting goalie helps Hofstra men's lacrosse beat Brown in home opener

One of the major uncertainties coming into the 2010 Hofstra men’s lacrosse season was who would start in goal and that question may have been answered in the Pride’s second game on Saturday afternoon against 19th-ranked Brown. In his first career start freshman Rob Bellairs posted seven saves to help 12th ranked Hofstra (1-1) to a 15-12 win over Brown (0-1) and head coach Seth Tierney is planning to start the Plainedge High School product in next week’s big matchup against Johns Hopkins.

“He earned the starting job in our coaching staff’s eyes,” said Tierney in the post game press conference following Hofstra’s home opener win over Brown before 2,234 fans at Shuart Stadium. “Barring anything crazy that happens this week Rob Bellairs will start against Hopkins.”

Bellairs, who earned All American honors his senior year of high school, has won the right to start in net early in the 2010 season over sophomore Andrew Gvozden, who as a freshman posted an 8.38 goals against average in 13 games. Against Brown Bellairs made some key early saves to help hold the Bears to only three goals in the first half.

Hofstra softball's hot start getting national attention

In its opening two weekends of the 2010 season the Hofstra softball program has made quite a splash on a national level. Against top-level competition at two tournaments in Florida and Georgia the Pride are off to 9-1 start that has catapulted them to 25th in the latest Ultimate College Softball top 25 poll.

Hofstra's hot start featured wins over North Dakota State, North Carolina State, Michigan State, Wright State, South Florida, Virginia Tech, Kent State and Mississippi State. The only loss came to 22nd ranked Florida State. The 9-1 start matches program's best since 1994, when Hofstra finished the season ranked 20th in the nation after going 39-16 but were snubbed of an NCAA Tournament bid.

Hofstra's nine wins have featured several close games with six of its nine victories coming by one run. "The big thing is that we are playing clutch," said Hofstra softball head coach Bill Edwards of his team's 9-1 start. "We're on a roll."

Hofstra women's basketball enhances chance at CAA tourney bye with win over Northeastern

When Hofstra women’s basketball seniors Sam Brigham and Jess Fuller were taken out in the final moments of Sunday afternoon’s game against Northeastern both showed signs of emotions knowing they had just finished their last regular season home contest. However their heralded Hofstra careers are far from over as the Pride’s 53-37 win over the Huskies keeps them very much alive for a top four Colonial Athletic Association finish that would earn a first round bye at the conference tournament that gets underway March 11.

Hofstra’s 53-37 win over Northeastern before 622 fans at the Mack Sports Complex puts the Pride (18-11, 11-6 in CAA) into a three-way tie for third place in the conference standings with Virginia Commonwealth and Drexel. Hofstra closes out the regular season this Wednesday evening at Delaware(18-10, 10-7 in CAA), who is just one game behind the Pride, and the winner of this game may very well end up with that all-important first round bye.

Hofstra men's basketball team stays hot heading into CAA Tourney with win over Georgia State

The Hofstra men’s basketball team’s 2-7 start to Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) play last month seems like a distant memory after the Pride completed the regular season Saturday with its eighth win in nine games over Georgia State 87-74. Hofstra finished its red hot February with its fourth 80 plus performance of the month and enters next weekends CAA Tournament Richmond clicking on all cylinders.

Hofstra (18-13, 10-8 in CAA) will enter the CAA Tournament as the seventh seed and play Friday night at 6 p.m. versus Georgia State, with a win pitting the Pride against second-seeded Northeastern in the quarterfinals Saturday. In order for Hofstra to capture the CAA title and get the automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2001 it will need to win four games in four days, something that has never been done in the history of the conference.

“No one has ever won all four but hey, I’ve never had a team go nine out of 10 down the stretch before so maybe this is kismet,” said Hofstra men’s basketball head coach Tom Pecora after the Pride defeated Georgia State in front of 3,964 fans at the Mack Sports Complex.

Hofstra men's lacrosse gears up for season opener at Princeton

For the first time since 2004 the Hofstra men's lacrosse team will not be opening its season against longtime nemesis Massachusetts, but the 11th ranked Pride will continue its recent run of starting against a challenging opponent when it takes the field at ninth ranked Princeton this Saturday.

Saturday's nationally-televised Noon game on ESPNU at Princeton's Class of 52 Stadium begins a brutal three game stretch to start the season, with home games versus 16th ranked Brown and fourth ranked Johns Hopkins on tap the next two weeks. "I'm just excited to get going and hear that opening whistle," said Hofstra men's lacrosse head coach Seth Tierney.

After holding scrimmages the last three weekends against Syracuse, Le Moyne, Rutgers and Yale, Tierney and his coaching staff determined much of what his starting lineup will look like, but in an interview Thursday afternoon was not ready to announce who would be lining up in net. The battle for who will be starting goalie has been a spirited one between sophomore Andrew Gvozden, who posted an 8.38 goals against average in 12 games last season, and freshman Rob Bellairs.

"Every time we're about to make an answer we kind of talk ourselves out of it so we've got to kind of go with our gut," said Tierney. "We've got to just make the best decision for our team."

Hofstra men's basketball keeps momentum with Bracketbuster win over Rider in OT

The Hofstra men’s basketball team’s ESPN Bracketbuster game against Rider Saturday did not have any bearing on post-season implications as the Pride’s only path to March Madness will be winning the Colonial Athletic Association Tournament, but picking up a 92-89 overtime win was still important to maintain the team’s recent momentum.

With Saturday’s hard fought overtime win Hofstra (16-13) has won seven of eight and is hot at the right time of season with only two games remaining before heading to Richmond for the CAA Tournament starting March 5. No matter what happens in the Pride’s final two conference games at Northeastern Tuesday and home versus Georgia State on Feb. 27, Hofstra (8-8 in the CAA) is locked into the seventh seed for its opening game at the Richmond Coliseum.

“Even though we might be locked in at that seven spot our goal is to go 10-8 in the conference and see if we could be in a three-way tie for fifth, sixth and seventh and play in the seven spot….. and then just have our mojo going, going into the tournament,” said Hofstra men’s basketball head coach Tom Pecora.

Hofstra women's lacrosse posts blowout over St. Mary's (Calif.) in tuneup for Notre Dame

         Despite having a highly anticipated matchup against eighth ranked Notre Dame this Tuesday the Hofstra women’s lacrosse team showed no signs of looking ahead to the Fighting Irish in its opening game Saturday against St. Mary’s (Calif.). After falling behind 2-0 the Pride scored 19 straight goals in route to a 21-3 win that head coach Abby Morgan hopes gets her team adequately prepared for a stiff test in just three days.
         When the Hofstra-Notre Dame game was initially conceived on the schedule the Fighting Irish wanted to make it as the Pride’s opener but Morgan made sure her team would at least have one game under their belt before taking on a top 10 program. Morgan is hopeful that Saturday’s St. Mary’s game, which featured 11 different Hofstra scorers, combined with scrimmages against Brown and Dartmouth last weekend will give the Pride the needed preparation to pull off an upset win against the Irish.
        “I think that we’re a little bit more prepared for playing Notre Dame,” said Morgan of how important it was to schedule two scrimmages and one game prior to Tuesday’s big showdown. “It is nice to have that confidence going in.”

Hofstra women's basketball wins close battle over George Mason

      On paper Thursday afternoon's Hofstra-George Mason women's basketball game looked like a mismatch after the Pride defeated the Patriots 72-39 in Fairfax, Va. just two weeks ago. However the last place team in the Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) gave Hofstra all they could handle before the Pride pulled away in the end for a 59-49 win in front of 1,016 fans during "Family Fun Day" at the Mack Sports Complex.
      Despite the Pride (15-11, 8-6 in CAA) having blown out George Mason on Feb. 4, Hofstra women's basketball head coach Krista Kilburn-Steveskey was not surprised that the result was much closer the second time around since the Patriots did not have starting point guard Brittany Poindexter in the first meeting. "Knowing that Brittany Poindexter did not play [in the first meeting] .... we knew had a pretty big task at hand," said Kilburn-Steveskey. "This team was a different team than we played last time."

Hofstra women's lacrosse eager for start of 2010 season this Saturday

     After barely missing out on the Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) playoffs the last two years, the Hofstra women's lacrosse team is ramped up to hit the Shuart Stadium turf for its opener against St. Mary's College (Calif.) this Saturday. The motivation to make certain that 2010 does not end without post-season play will be especially on the minds of eight Pride seniors who got a taste of being in the NCAA Tournament as freshman in 2007.
    "It is interesting to think about the seniors of that 07 squad, their freshman year they didn't make the CAA Tournament, their sophomore and junior year they were in the championship game and lost," said fourth-year Hofstra women's lacrosse head coach Abby Morgan of how this years seniors much like the ones three years ago had experienced back-to-back years of major disappointment heading into the end of their college women's lacrosse careers.  "The third time hopefully is the charm for us to do what we're supposed to do in the CAA conference."
    Two returning veterans earned preseason All-CAA honors including senior midfielder Corrine Gandolfi and junior defender Katie Hertsch. Gandolfi is coming off a third-team All-America junior season that saw her score 45 goals and 25 assists while Hertsch recorded 36 ground balls and 30 draw controls.

Hofstra freshman Shante Evans showing why she is among CAA women's basketball elite

Picture Courtesy Hofstra Athletic Communications
Hofstra women’s basketball freshman forward Shante Evans is having a smash rookie season leading the Pride in both scoring (13.4 points per game) and rebounding (8.9 a game), and in normal circumstances would be a slam dunk for Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) rookie of the year. However Evans happens to be a freshman the same season as Delaware’s Elena Delle Donne, who had previously committed to national powerhouse Connecticut as the number one-rated recruit in the nation, and in her first season with the Blue Hens is averaging 25.8 points a game.

While winning CAA rookie of the year is unlikely for Evans given how dominant a force Delle Donne has been in Newark, Del., what is certain is that the 6’0 forward from West Chester, Pa. is one of the the biggest recruits ever landed by the Hofstra women’s basketball program. She was ranked the 54th best player in the class of 2009 as well as the ninth best forward by ESPN/HoopGurlz, and has been living up the hype so far in her short Hofstra career. Following a 28-point performance in a 73-58 win over UNC-Wilmington on Super Bowl Sunday, longtime Philadelphia Inquirer columnist Mel Greenberg wrote about how Evans has made an immediate impact on the Hofstra program in her freshman season.

Play of injured Fuller inspires Hofstra women's basketball to win over first place VCU

Four days after Jess Fuller suffered a severe sprained ankle against UNC-Wilmington the senior center decided to play through the pain in Thursday's women’s basketball matinee against Virginia Commonwealth. The 6’4 Fuller only logged 15 minutes but provided a spark off the bench with 10 points and one block to help the Pride upset the first place team in the Colonial Athletic Association (CAA).

Thanks to the heroic effort from Fuller along with 19 points from sophomore guard Nicole Capurso, Hofstra defeated VCU 74-66 for its fourth win in five games. Sam Brigham also stepped up during the Pride's second of three weekday afternoon games this season with 17 points on 12-12 from the free throw line to help Hofstra improve to 14-10 and 7-5 in the CAA.

When Fuller first entered the game she blocked a shot with 1:46 left in the first half bringing the Hofstra bench to its feet. Her basket with 4:11 left in the second half game made it 63-56 Hofstra and gave the Pride some much-needed insurance after the Rams (16-8, 9-3 in CAA) had clawed their way back into the game after tailing by as many as 14.

Hofstra student section in full force to see Wednesday's blizzard win over Drexel

With the Long Island area blitzed by blizzard conditions the Mack Sports Complex was largely empty for Wednesday’s Hofstra-Drexel men’s basketball game, but the student section was still in full force creating a hostile road environment for the Pride’s longtime conference rival dating back to the days of the America East. The over 100 hundred Hofstra students that crawled across the Hempstead campus amidst the winter elements created a sixth man and aided Hofstra to a 75-64 victory for the Pride’s fourth win in five games.

"God bless the fans who came out,” said Hofstra men’s basketball head coach Tom Pecora of the few hundred supporters who found their way to the Mack Sports Complex during a blizzard that dumped over a foot of snow around much of the New York City region. “The students were good, they were noisy."

With the win Hofstra is now 13-13 and 6-8 in the Colonial Athletic Association (CAA). Official attendance was listed as 893 but the enthusiastic student section made it seem like a few thousand. “It was fun that the students came through the weather," said Hofstra junior forward Greg Washington. “The turnout was good.”