Brian Tedder/CollegianSenior Fred Federico’s third-quarter goal made it perfectly clear that, despite the current controversy surrounding the No. 20 Massachusetts men’s lacrosse team, the 2008 season opener belonged to the Minutemen.
Frederico’s score followed two quick goals from Hofstra’s Kevin Ford to cut UMass’s lead to 5-3 and bring the Pride (0-1) back into the game.
Junior goalkeeper Doc Schneider made 18 saves, and junior attack Tim Balise scored four goals as the Minutemen (1-0) defeated No. 15 Hofstra, 8-4, Saturday afternoon at Garber Field.
“Every win is a big win. We scratched out a win today. Against the teams that we play, they are all big wins,” UMass coach Greg Cannella said.
“I’m pleased with our effort. We had real good focus throughout the first half. I thought we got a little out of control there in the second half. Maybe we were a little tired, I’m not sure. But we’re doing our best.”
Neither team dominated possession in the first half, but the Minutemen were more successful in creating scoring chances. The game’s first goal, a turnaround shot over the shoulder of Hofstra goalkeeper Danny Orlando from Balise, was born from the aggressive play of sophomore Bobby Hayes.
Hayes scooped up a loose ball and quickly found Balise alone to the right of Orlando.
Another turnover led to the second UMass goal, the first of freshman Peter McNichols’ career. McNichols and Ryan Hantverk were featured heavily in the UMass offensive rotation in their first-career games.
“These guys have been in practice for five months now with the fall into the spring,” Cannella said of his freshmen. “We knew Pete McNichols, Zach Rogers and Ryan Hantverk could play. Whether they were going to be tentative or nervous, who knows?”
The success of the young players aside, their inexperience allowed the Pride back into the game once the second half began. The Minutemen turned the ball over nine times in the third quarter, and careless passing caused most of the mishaps.
Hofstra took advantage of the possessions at 9:18 of the third when Ford took a pass from Michael Colleluori to the right of Schneider. He quickly circled the goal and fired a shot over Schneider’s left shoulder.
Sixty-two seconds later, with the Minutemen down a man as a result of a brutal Stephen Zorkers cross-check, Ford struck again. This time a shot from the top of the restraining box found its way through a throng of players stationed in front of the goal and past Schneider.
The Hofstra bench erupted as Ford and his teammates celebrated on the field. The momentum quickly shifted to favor the Pride, but junior Joe Reale’s win on the following faceoff halted the Hofstra run. The teams traded possessions until Federico’s goal, at 4:22 of the period, permanently squashed the confidence of the Pride. Reale won 10-of-16 faceoffs on the afternoon and also assisted on UMass’s final goal.
After winning the faceoff cleanly, he raced down field and found Balise who beat Orlando seven seconds after Hantverk scored to swell UMass’s lead to 7-3.
“[Reale] started off 1-for-3, but he’s a pretty good athlete. He didn’t win the draw cleanly a couple of times, but he won it as an athlete getting the groundball,” Cannella said. “We have a lot of faith in Joe, so we stuck with him. But Bobby Hayes, Nick Glasser and Stephen Zorker are all ready.”
The Pride maintained possession for most of the fourth quarter, outshooting the Minutemen 14-4. But Schneider kept the Minutemen alive with seven saves in the period. With 4:45 left in the game, the Pride peppered Schneider with four shots in one minute but couldn’t beat the net minder.
“We’re going to need that from Doc. His performance, 12 saves in the second half, was exactly what we needed,” Cannella said. “We turned the ball over so many times that we needed to lean on our defense and Doc.”
Game notes
Senior captain Rory Pedrick missed the season opener with an undisclosed injury. Cannella gave no timetable for his return
