The Massachusetts men’s lacrosse team came out of the gate ready to go against Hofstra. They were not able to capitalize on the early momentum, losing 12-11.

UMass (3-3, 3-2 Colonial Athletic Association) came into Friday’s game looking to complete the season sweep of conference opponent Hofstra (6-2, 3-1 CAA).The Minutemen were up to the challenge right away as they found success offensively in the opening quarter.

It was the Tobin brothers who sparked UMass’ offense just a few minutes into the game. Sophomore Mike Tobin made a dodge down the right side of the goal before flipping a pass across the front of the net to his brother, senior Kevin Tobin who buried the ball in the back of the net.

“Kevin is very diligent in what he does from week to week” Head coach Greg Canella said of K. Tobin. “[Kevin] Works very very hard, he’s out there in the mornings shooting, after practice shooting, so it’s no surprise that when he gets his opportunities he scores more than not.”

Tobin-to-Tobin puts the Gorillas up first!#GorillaLacrosse 🦍 x #Flagship 🚩 pic.twitter.com/X8am6LC6Hg

— UMass Men's Lacrosse (@UMassMLacrosse) April 9, 2021

The brothers combined for eight total points on the day as K. Tobin recorded four goals and an assist while M. Tobin notched one goal and two assists. They sparked an early run for the Minutemen as they would score five goals on six shots on goal through the first 15 minutes of play.

“They’ve been playing together all their life” Canella said. “When they connect on the field they’re so happy… both hard-nosed players, tough as nails, both former hockey players that really have a great knack around the goal.”

UMass was efficient offensively early on as graduate student Billy Philpott along with freshman Dillon Arrant added to the Minutemen’s goal total in the first quarter. Arrant continued to display his scoring ability as he made a quick move to get inside of the Pride’s defense and go top shelf on redshirt senior Bobby Casey.

Arrant was able to follow up his early goal with another one. This time shooting with his left hand and going low for the goal. It was then Philpott who scored one running down the left side of the field before putting the ball in the back of the net. The Minutemen’s first four shots all found the back of the cage.

UMass appeared to have Hofstra’s number early as not only were they playing well offensively, but the defense was standing strong. Apart from letting up two back-door goals in the first, they were playing well and shutting down Hofstra’s premier offensive weapon, senior Ryan Tierney.

The Minutemen couldn’t contain Tierney forever, as it was only a matter of time before the ball found its way into his stick. When the ball found Tierney’s stick, good things happened for Hofstra. Tierney scored two goals in the second quarter before giving himself the hat-trick by scoring another in the third.

“I didn’t think we were going to hold him to two points like we did in the first game” Canella said of Tierney. “He’s too good of a player, he’s one, in my opinion, one of the best in the country.”

The momentum that UMass had built after their solid first-quarter performance was quickly diminished by the Pride.

The Minutemen didn’t help themselves out as they committed multiple penalties in the second half, giving Hofstra multiple man-up opportunities, which the Pride were able to take advantage of.

“The four for six on extra-man for them was probably the difference in the game” Canella said.

UMass held an 8-4 lead at one point but saw it slip away rather quickly. Hofstra responded with five unanswered goals, putting themselves on top.

“You have to keep scoring, in the first game we kept scoring, this game we didn’t, and that allows them to creep back in”

An offense that was firing on all cylinders in the first quarter disappeared for the Minutemen in the second half.

“We didn’t play a lot of offense in the second half” Canella said. “Too many turnovers, ten in the second half, that we had very short possessions, so we relied on our defense a lot, and against really good offensive teams it’s not a good formula.”

A turnover and penalty plagued second half allows the Pride to get themselves back into the game and take control. The game switched from the Minutemen clicking on offense to having Hofstra’s offense clicking in the second half when it mattered most.

“Eight goals in the first half, good output, three goals in the second half, not a great output” Canella said.

UMass was able to partially overcome a poor second-half offensive performance as they had a chance with seven seconds remaining to tie up the ball game but were unable to convert.

“We’re pretty disappointed, very frustrated, but not discouraged cause the efforts continue to be there in every game we’ve played” Canella said.

The Minutemen will look to end their two-game skid as they’re set to face Townson next weekend. UMass and the Tigers (3-6, 0-3 CAA) are set to faceoff Saturday, April 17, at 1 p.m. in Amherst.

Carson Depp can be reached at @cdepp.umass.edu. Follow him on Twitter @CarsonDepp.