Two ranked teams lost to un-ranked conference rivals, their women counterparts defeated rivals, and the LIU men were very close to defeating their conference regular season champions. Here are how the local DI schools faired this past week.
Tewaaraton Award Nominees:
Hofstra’s Ryan Tierney and Stony Brook’s Ally Kennedy were named nominees to the 2021 Tewaaraton Award. Both Tierney and Kennedy viewed as one of the top players for both their teams and their sports look to capture the “MVP” award for Collegiate lacrosse. The five finalists for both the men’s and women’s awards will be announced at the conclusion of the regular season with the winners announced after the national championship game. Both Kennedy and Tierney were named to the Inside Lacrosse Midseason first team and third team’s, respectively, and Kennedy was named the US Lacrosse Magazine Preseason Player of the Year.
Hofstra:
The 20th ranked Hofstra Men lost to Drexel on Saturday in Philly, losing 12-8. It was a close game throughout the first three quarters until Drexel had a run of five unanswered goals and the Pride could not get back. Sterlyn Ardrey tie his career high of three goals that led the Pride, while Jack Mulcahy and Raid Bowering also scored three each for the Dragons. Bobby Casey made 10 saves in the loss and Ross Blumenthal had 12 in the win for Drexel, that improved to 7-2 on the season and 5-2 in conference play. Drexel is sitting second and has almost certainly secured a top three regular season finish. The Dragons travel to Towson next Saturday to finish out the season. The Pride lost their third straight, falling to 6-5 on the season, 3-4 in the CAA. Hofstra will play its regular season finale on Friday when it hosts Fairfield. The previous matchup between the two teams saw the Pride defeat the Stags 15-7 last month. Hofstra is currently on the chopping block for making the CAA tournament. The Pride is currently tied with Towson in record and head-to-head matchup. The Pride will be rooting for Drexel next weekend. The CAA tournament is scheduled to start May 6 at Hofstra’s James M. Shuart Stadium.
The Hofstra women narrowly defeated 20th ranked Towson after two late goals that secured the 10-9 for the Pride. Alexa Matter led the pride with five goals with the fifth goal tying the game with 5:35 remaining. Pride star Alyssa Parrella only had one goal, but it was the game winner with 3:19 remaining. Blair Pearre led the Tigers with three goals. Carly Merlo made nine saves in the loss for Towson who drops to 8-6 on the season and 0-3 in conference play. Jess Smith made eight saves for Hofstra that gives the team its first conference win of the season improving to 5-5 overall and 1-2 in CAA play. Towson and Hofstra finish the regular season playing each other once more, this time in Hempstead next Saturday.
Stony Brook:
The Stony Brook men once again fell to UMBC in overtime losing 14-13. UMBC defeated Stony Brook earlier this season 13-12 in four overtime periods, the Retrievers only needing one overtime this time around. UMBC dominated play in the first half, leading 8-6 heading into the half and scored two more goals in the first half of the third quarter. The Seawolves came back outscoring UMBC 5-1 in the final 16 minutes with Matt DeMeo tying the game with 2:30 left. After DeMeo’s goal it became a defensive game with the final thirty seconds seeing fantastic plays by both goal keepers, Anthony Palma and Tommy Lingner. Ryan Frawley, who led the Retrievers with five goals, scored the game winning goal with 28 seconds left in the first overtime. Brandon Galloway had four goals for UMBC (7-2, 6-2 in the America East). The Seawolves had three players score hat tricks including DeMeo, Dylan Pallonetti and Cory VanGinhoven. The Seawolves fell to 8-4 overall and 6-2 in America East play. There is a potential for a three-way race for America East between UMBC, Stony Brook and with either Vermont or UAlbany, depending on who wins between the two latter teams this Wednesday. As of right now UMBC will receive the number one seed along with tournament hosting privileges thanks to the two wins against Stony Brook. In order for Stony Brook to host the America East tournament, the Seawolves will hope for a win against Vermont in their regular season finale and hope NJIT can defeat the Retrievers in its finale.
The Stony Brook women came back from a three-week hiatus and defeated SUNY rival UAlbany for the second time this season, defeating the Great Danes 17-10 in the state capital Saturday afternoon. UAlbany took an early three goal lead before the Seawolves answered with five unanswered and kept the lead the rest of the game. Ally Kennedy led Stony Brook with five goals increasing her season count to 44, which is tied with UAlbany’s Kyla Zapolski for the America East Conference lead. The Great Danes had seven players find the net with Katie Pascale, Julia Imbo and Kathryn Scancilio all scoring two. Kameron Halsall only saved three while Georgia Schneidereith made 13 in the loss. UAlbany is now 9-6 overall and 6-2 in conference play and will close out the regular season against Binghamton. Stony Brook won its 50th straight game against conference opponents, a record that dates back to 2014 and last lost to Vermont on April 26, 2014. Stony Brook is 10-2 on the season and 6-0 in conference play. The Seawolves will take on UNH, a game that was postponed three weeks ago, on Wednesday and will close out the regular season against UMBC on May 1. Stony Brook’s magic number is 1, in order for the team to clinch the regular season title, the number 1 seed for the America East tournament and have hosting privileges for the tournament.
LIU:
The LIU men lost a close one against NEC regular season champion, Saint Joseph’s, losing 14-13 in Philly. Jake Gillis led the Sharks with six goals, and Matt Bohmer led Hawks with a hat trick and an assist. Will Mark made 19 saves in the loss, and Tucker Almany made 6 in the win. LIU is now 6-3, 5-2 in conference play and will close out the regular season hosting Bryant. Saint Josephs’s began the season with three loses against non-conference ranked opponents, against Towson, Delaware and Army. The Hawks then went on a 7-game win streak in conference play and will end the regular season, hosting Wagner on Friday.
The LIU women’s game against Mount St. Mary’s Maryland, and will now end the regular season against Bryant on Wednesday.
