March 13, 2010

Box Score

HEMPSTEAD, NY - The 10th-ranked Hofstra men's lacrosse team used a six-goal run to pull away from visiting Johns Hopkins in the second half and the Pride went on to post a 14-6 victory over the Blue Jays at rain and wind-swept Shuart Stadium Saturday evening. The win improves Hofstra's record to 2-1, while the Blue Jays slip to 4-2 with the loss.

The Pride put the game away with the six-goal run after the Blue Jays had sliced a 6-2 halftime deficit to 6-4 in less than 90 seconds early in the third quarter. Jamie Lincoln answered the mini-run by Johns Hopkins when he swept across the top of the box and took a quick pass from Jay Card and blew one inside the near post. The 7-4 lead held until the final five minutes of the period, when the Pride added two goals by Stephen Bentz and a final goal by Mike Skudin with just 1.2 seconds remaining to push the lead to 10-4 entering the final quarter.

The Blue Jays fell behind 4-1 at the end of the first quarter and trailed 6-2 at the half as the Pride scored in settled offense, in transition and with a two-man advantage in the first 30 minutes. A Mike DeNapoli goal less than five minutes into the first quarter opened the scoring, but was answered less than a minute later by Blue Jay senior Tom Duerr, who slipped through traffic from the side and slipped a five-yarder past Hofstra goalie Rob Bellairs.

Hofstra got back-to-back goals from Jamie Lincoln and Jay Card in a span of just 21 seconds midway through the quarter and Johns Hopkins head coach Dave Pietramala inserted Steven Burke in goal for the Blue Jays after Card's goal.

DeNapoli's second goal, which came on a quick restart after the Blue Jays were called for offsides, came less than two minutes later, but Burke proved his mettle early in the second quarter when he stuffed Card in-tight while the Pride were playing a man down and Duerr buried an extra-man goal a short time later to make it 4-2.

The Pride got a goal by Adrian Sorichetti while up two men with 4:54 remaining in the first half and Lincoln blew one home from 12 yards out at the top of the box less than two minutes later to close the first-half scoring.

A 12-yard laser by senior Michael Kimmel 36 second into the third quarter sliced the deficit to 6-3 and John Greeley's first career goal less than a minute later made it 6-4, but Lincoln's goal three minutes later ignited the game-turning run, which lifted the Pride to their third straight win against Hopkins at home.

Lincoln led the Pride with five goals and three assists, while Card added two goals and a game-high four assists. The Pride held advantages in shots (34-19) and ground balls (28-22) and converted on 3-of-4 extra-man chances.

Senior Steven Boyle led the Blue Jays with two goals and one assist.

Note: The game was delayed 14 minutes in the first quarter when the high winds knocked the power out at the stadium.