This week on In Lacrosse We Trust we take a look at the college scene and analyze Hofstra University and how they fared in fall ball and how they are looking to get ready for their upcoming season.
Last season ended on a sour note for the Pride. After winning five of their first six games, including an upset of Notre Dame, the Pride finished the season losing six of their final eight games and not qualifying for the CAA Conference Tournament.
Looking ahead to 2014, the Pride went down to Ridley High School in Pennsylvania to take part in the HEADstrong Foundation’s seventh annual Nick Colleluori Classic. There the Pride took on Binghamton and Villanova where they got their first real look at the 2013-2014 squad that will look to improve upon a 7-7 record. It was also their first chance to get a look at the No. 19-ranked recruiting class headlined by No. 78-ranked recruit Connor Cunningham and No. 98-ranked recruit Trevor Kupecky.
The team then finished fall ball with the annual alumni game which provided one last look at the team and how it may look heading into the upcoming season.
As the winter starts and players prepare for the offseason and get ready for the grind that is the preseason, the team will need to be ready to go as they face some tough competition early on. Five of their first seven games are against big name teams in Georgetown, Princeton, Delaware, Ohio State and St. Johns before they get into the meat of their conference schedule. The Pride then finish with two very tough games against Cornell and Penn State, who both made the NCAA Tournament and are expected to be strong contenders in their respective conferences.
Some quick notes for the Pride are that they will need to replace Adrian Sorichetti who was their third leading scorer. However, they return the rest of their leading scorers and should be strong on offense. The Pride also lose faceoff man John Antoniades who was a modest .500 from the ‘X’ last season but took all the faceoffs last season. So it will be interesting to see who they use to counter the loss at the ‘X.’ Lastly, the Pride should be strong in net as they return Chris Selva who ranked No. 3 in the nation in save percentage at 60 percent.
All in all, it will interesting to see how Hofstra replaces some key pieces, however, fans should expect this team to be very competitive throughout the year and pull off some upsets with their tough schedule.
