In an early season conference matchup of highly-ranked Hofstra and Princeton, two senior attackers bombarded the net to give the Pride a convincing 11-9 victory. The senior attack of No. 7 Hofstra led to seven combined goals, four by Jamie Lincoln and three by Stephen Bentz.

Lincoln and Bentz each netted three first half goals with Lincoln’s fourth goal and Hofstra’s 11th coming with seven minutes, 16 seconds left in the contest. The Pride also received aggressive face-off play from sophomore midfielder John Antoniades. Antoniades picked up a personal game-high of nine ground balls and gained the advantage on 16-of-22 face-offs.

Dating back to last season, Hofstra continued its success at James M. Shuart Stadium on Saturday with their ninth-straight victory at their home turf in Hempstead, N.Y. The Pride are off to a hot start at 3-0, downing opponents Colgate and Sacred Heart along the way.

Despite taking the loss, junior Princeton goalkeeper Tyler Fiorito made 15 saves while his counterpart, Andrew Gvozden, recorded six. Underclassmen led the scoring for the Tigers, as freshman Tom Schreiber and sophomore Jeff Froccaro each tallied two goals, while sophomore Forest Sonnenfeldt scored three.

The No. 8 Tigers start the season off with a loss following a first round defeat to Notre Dame in the 2010 Men’s Lacrosse Championship in Baltimore, Md last year.

They look to rebound against ranked opponent Johns Hopkins in Baltimore on Saturday, while Hofstra will look to continue its home wining-streak when it hosts Harvard at 1 p.m. on Saturday.

Delaware wins in OT

In spite of letting a four-goal lead slip from its grasp, Delaware effectively retaliated in overtime to down Bellarmine, 12-11, at home on Sunday afternoon.

The Knights rallied after a four-goal deficit, scoring four unanswered goals in the last 5:16 of play to force an overtime period. Streaky play by both teams allowed for Bellarmine’s fourth-quarter run and an early five-goal stretch by the Blue Hens. The Knights converted on four extra man opportunities throughout the contest.

Delaware’s top scorer and junior attackman Eric Smith netted the game-winning goal with just 53 seconds left in the overtime period. Smith recorded five points and has 19 for the season in only five games. Defensemen accounted for two of the Blue Hens’ goals, one each from Taylor Burns and Connor Fitzgerald.

The Blue Hens are off to a 4-1 start with their only loss coming at home against No. 9-ranked Johns Hopkins.

Junior Dan Cooney won 15 face-offs for the Blue Hens and netminder Noah Fossner recorded 14 saves. Delaware played through injuries to two of its top midfielders and hopes to have them healthy for game action at Albany on Saturday.

Loyola downs Towson

Loyola is out for vengeance this season after a heart-breaking, three-overtime and first-round exit at the hands of tournament semifinalist Cornell in last year’s NCAA tournament. The No. 15-ranked Greyhounds are off to a hot start with their second-straight one-goal victory after a 3-2 win at Towson on Saturday.

The Tigers were offensively challenged throughout the contest, recording only 21 shots, with just eight on net, while Loyola held a 28-21 groundball advantage. In its first two games of the season, Towson has netted eight goals, a relatively low number. In net, goalie Travis Love stopped nine shots while allowing three in the defeat.

Loyola senior goalie Jake Hagelin made a crucial stop in the winning effort, saving a shot from Tigers’ senior midfielder Pat Britton with less than two minutes to play off a Greyhounds turnover.

Senior attackman Matt Langan scored twice for Loyola, including the game-winning shot with 3:41 left in the last frame. Langan caught a pass in the feeding area behind Towson’s goal, crashed the net as he cradled around the crease and ripped a bounce shot past Love.

John Schiavone won the ensuing face-off and allowed Loyola to run 90 seconds off the clock. Tight defense by the Greyhounds limited last chance opportunities for the Tigers. Loyola’s defense shut down the last ditch effort of the Towson offense to move to 2-0 on the season.

Matt Strong can be reached at [email protected].