Showing the fortitude necessary to carry it through the long season, No. 8 Hofstra defeated Saint John’s, 8-5, on March 22 and rushed past Drexel, 11-6, on March 26.
It would have been easy for the Pride to wallow in self-pity after their 7-6 loss to the Delaware on March 19.
Hofstra entered the game ranked fourth in the nation, and had run through their non-conference schedule with a 5-0 record, but the scrappy Blue Hens knocked them off the top spot.
However, thanks to a strong team effort, the Pride quickly righted the ship. First, Jay Card, Jamie Lincoln and Stephen Bentz combined to rack up five goals and six assists to help push the team over St. John’s, raising their unbeaten streak in non-conference play to six games.
Then, sophomore Ian Braddish earned a team-high three points on two assists and a goal to lead Hofstra over Drexel. He wasn’t alone as the Dragons’ net was peppered from all angles, as Lincoln, Card, sophomore Aaron Jones and freshman Torin Varn earned two goals apiece.
Junior goaltender Andrew Gvozden played well in both games, racking up 11 and six saves in each game, respectively.
Delaware survives scare
Delaware, returning to the field for the first time since their upset victory over Hofstra, brought down by Towson, 8-7.
Eric Smith and Sean Finegan each had two goals apiece to lead Delaware. Grant Kaleikau, the dominant player in last week’s upset victory over Hofstra, added a goal and two assists as well.
For the Tigers, Pat Britton, Matt Hughes and Tim Stratton each scored a pair of goals, and Carl Iacona added one of his own.
This contest was but the latest in a string of tough games between these two teams. None of the last eight games between these teams have been decided by more than three goals, and three of the last 20 have had called with more than a four-goal margin.
In last year’s edition of the league’s penultimate game, Delaware earned a hard-fought 12-9 victory in Towson’s home Johnny Unitas Stadium.
With the win, Delaware currently holds a conference record of 2-0, and 6-3 overall. Towson, on the other hand, falls to 0-1 in CAA play and 2-5 overall.
Ben Lambert can be reached at [email protected].
