Hofstra falls to Maryland, 11-8, in NCAA Tournament

COLLEGE PARK, Md. - The Hofstra men's lacrosse team's offense carried it into the NCAA Tournament. But a stout Maryland defense prevented the Pride's potent attack from taking Hofstra any further.

Hofstra grabbed a one-goal lead early in the second half, then struggled as the third-seeded Terrapins surged to an 11-8 victory Saturday before 1,641 at Byrd Stadium.

"The Maryland defense did a great job of getting in our hands and pressuring the ball when we were in the subbing game," said Hofstra junior attackman Jay Card, who scored four goals. "I know our whole attack found it difficult to get in a groove because they were always in our hands. It was just hard to operate and get into our sets with that happening."

It was the lowest output of the season for the Pride (9-5), which entered the tournament averaging 13.3 goals a game.

Midfielder Tim Holman had two goals and two assists for Hofstra. Attackman Jamie Lincoln, who entered as the Pride's leading scorer with 33 goals and 20 assists in 13 games, was held to one shot and no points.

"They were in his mittens all day," coach Seth Tierney said. "They wouldn't come off of him. There's coaches that make statements, and if I had to assume, what Maryland was doing was [saying], 'Jamie Lincoln's not beating Maryland.' "

The rest of his teammates, though, had their chances. Card's goal seven seconds before halftime pulled Hofstra within 4-3, and Kevin Ford and Holman scored to open the second half as the Pride took its only lead of the day. But the Terrapins scored seven of the next eight goals for an 11-6 lead.

The Terps nursed a 7-6 edge early in the fourth quarter, but Ryan Young scored in transition with 9:24 left. Adam Sear's extra-man goal made it 9-6 a little more than two minutes later, and goals by Young and Will Yeatman gave Maryland an 11-6 lead. Card scored his 30th and 31st goals of the season in a 33-second span to make it 11-8, but only 38 seconds remained after his final goal.

Hofstra sophomore goalie Andrew Gvozden made 10 of his 13 saves in the first half to temporarily stymie the experienced Terps (12-3). "He kept us in it," Tierney said.

Hofstra, though, was done in with its play on the ground. Maryland won 15 of 23 faceoffs and held a 41-21 advantage iin ground balls, exploiting unsettled opportunities even when its offense struggled.

It was the third straight first-round exit for Hofstra, which slipped into this year's field as one of the final at-large teams. Only four seniors played Saturday for a team that will return all but one starter next season.

Nonetheless, it was an emotional conclusion for Tierney, who took over the program just weeks before these seniors first arrived on campus.

"I just told the guys in the locker room that Hofstra lacrosse is in a better place today than it was four years ago," Tierney said while holding back tears. "It has nothing to do with me. It has to do with the senior class. They deserve the credit. The expectations are higher, the demands are higher and I promised the seniors that we would continue what they started."