Hofstra Finishes Unbeaten in CAA
from press release
HEMPSTEAD, N.Y. - Kevin Ford tallied three
goals and two assists and Tom Dooley added three goals to lead the
ninth-ranked Pride of Hofstra to a 10-3 victory over Villanova in
the CAA regular season finale for both teams. Hofstra posted its
second consecutive win to improve to 11-2 overall and conclude the
CAA schedule undefeated at 6-0. Villanova falls to 9-5 overall and
3-3 in conference play.
The top-seed Pride will host a CAA Championship semifinal game on
Wednesday, April 29 at 7 p.m. at Shuart Stadium when they will
again meet the Wildcats of Villanova, who are the fourth and final
seed. Towson (6-8, 4-2), the second seed, will host the third seed
Drexel in the other semifinal on Wednesday. The two winners will
meet, at the home of the highest remaining seed, on Saturday, May 2
for the CAA Championship and the automatic bid into the NCAA
Championships that begin on Saturday, May 9.
In addition to Ford and Dooley, Hofstra received two goals and one
assist from senior Michael Colleluori and two assists from senior
Anthony Muscarella. Freshman goalie Andrew Gvozden, who made 10
saves, posted his ninth win in 11 outings. The Wildcats, who were
held to their lowest offensive output of the season, received goals
from seniors Tim Driscoll and Dan Liva and freshman Kevin
Cunningham. Senior goalie Andrew DiLoreto, the leading goalie in
the CAA, made 11 saves in the Villanova cage.
The two teams split the first four goals as Kevin Cunningham's
seventh goal of the season 1:14 into the second quarter tied the
game at 2-all. From that point it was all Hofstra as the Pride
outscored their visitors 8-1 to post their best defensive effort of
the season. Dooley, who posted his third hat-trick of the year,
started the 5-0 run with his first of the game and 14th of the
season 38 seconds later. Dooley notched his 15th on a runner from
10 yards with 10:22 to play in the second to give Hofstra a 4-2
lead and close out the scoring in the half.
Ford, who opened the game's scoring seven minutes into the contest,
notched his second and third of the day in the third quarter to
boost the score to 6-2. His second goal of the day was scored
coming around the cage while his third was on a run across the box
after a long pass from Dan Stein. It was Ford's third hat-trick in
the last four games. Senior Ryan Carter tallied his eighth of the
season, from Ford, with 4:09 to play in the third to boost the
Hofstra lead to 7-2.
Tim Driscoll ended the Pride run with his 24th goal of the year off
a perfect pass from behind the cage to a streaking Driscoll on the
crease with 1:59 to play in the period. It would be the last time
the Wildcats would dent the twine as the Pride scored three more
times in the final quarter. Jay Card notched his 30th goal of the
season, from Muscarella, 3:46 into the fourth. Colleluori scored
his second of the game and 12th of the season, off a pass from
Muscarella, less than a minute later and Dooley completed his
hat-trick, off a pass from Ford, 59 seconds after that for the 10-3
lead. It was Dooley's 16th goal of the year.
The undefeated conference regular season is Hofstra's first since
2006 when the Pride also posted a 6-0 mark during their
record-setting 17-2 season. Hofstra also had undefeated conference
records from 1995 through 1998. The Pride will be defending the CAA
Championship that they won in an overtime thriller over Drexel in
Philadelphia last May.
