Hofstra lacrosse primed for 2014

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Three years removed from its last NCAA Tournament appearance, Hofstra men’s lacrosse program is taking a “one game at a time” approach for 2014 in hopes that its season gets extended well into May.

With 23 players back including six starters, head coach Seth Tierney has set high expectations for the Pride this spring. Hofstra also has extra motivation to reach the NCAAs with the quarterfinals slated for its home turf of Shuart Stadium on May 17.

“We’re going to play every game as one game and not look ahead,” said Tierney, who is in his eighth season. “It’s not one guy but every guy together that will be key.”

Hofstra is coming off a 7-7 season that saw the highs of upset wins at second-ranked Notre Dame and 13th-ranked Fairfield, but also the lows of four one-goal losses and missing out on qualifying for the Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) playoffs for a second straight year. 

Hofstra hit a rough patch out of the gate with a 11-9 loss to Marquette on Feb. 15, but the Pride has improved since then with a 9-7 win against 17th-ranked Fairfield on Feb. 25 and a hard-fought 12-10 loss at 10th-ranked Princeton on Feb. 22.

Tierney returns the entire starting attack unit of Torin Varn, Lance Yapor and Sam Llinares, who earned Suffolk County Player of the Year honors his senior season at Hauppauge High School in 2012. The Pride lost its entire starting close defense but return goaltender Chris Selva, who recorded a .602 save percentage as a sophomore. 

One of many local contributors on Tierney’s 2014 squad is freshman faceoff specialist Kris Clarke, a Bellmore native who won 75 percent of his draws as a senior at Chaminade. Clarke decided to play collegiate lacrosse in his backyard after also being recruited by Brown, Colgate and Loyola. “Kris has done a great job preparing for the transition to Division I lacrosse,” said Tierney.

Former Wantagh High School teammates John Reicherter (defensive midfield) and Brian von Bargen (midfield) are also important players. Other former Nassau County stars on Hofstra’s roster include goalie Eddie Collins (Long Beach), attackman/midfielder Cole Considine (South Side), midfielder Steve Romano (Massapequa), and midfielder Korey Hendrickson (Farmingdale).

   

High hopes for women’s team 

The Hofstra women’s lacrosse program is riding momentum under the leadership of second-year head coach Shannon Smith.

Smith, a women’s lacrosse legend who starred at West Babylon High School and won the Teewaraton Trophy during a standout collegiate career at Northwestern, is confident about her squad following a 2013 season that saw Hofstra reach the CAA title game before falling to Towson 9-4.

“We want to get back to that CAA championship and win it this year,” said Smith, who led Northwestern to three national titles during her playing career.

Hofstra, which has posted two early season wins against Fairfield and Colgate, returned 10 starters and 23 contributors from last year’s 11-8 team that fell a game short of the program’s first NCAA Tournament appearance since 2007. Among the key returners is Wantagh product April Iannetta, who was CAA Co-Defensive Player of the Year as a sophomore last season. Iannetta along with junior attacker Brittan Altomare earned All-CAA first team accolades in 2013.

“April is a very tenacious player,” said Smith. “She brings a lot of energy to the field.”

Iannetta is one of many former Nassau County stars in Hofstra’s starting lineup, which also includes sophomore midfielder Becky Conto, a West Hempstead native and Sacred Heart Academy graduate who was CAA Rookie of the year last season. Former South Side teammates Kelsey Gregerson (goaltender) and Emily Considine (attacker) also a core part of the Pride. 

Doubleheader on tap
Fans of both Hofstra lacrosse teams can see them back-to-back on March 15. The women’s lacrosse team faces Ohio State at noon, followed by the Pride men taking on Delaware in its CAA opener at 3 p.m. For further information on Hofstra’s 2014 lacrosse schedules, log onto gohofstra.com