Ohio lacrosse team’s stuff stolen from Hofstra locker room, cops say

Personal effects and equipment belonging to an Ohio lacrosse team were stolen from a Hofstra University locker room on Saturday night while the major league team defeated the New York Lizards, a Nassau County Police spokeswoman said.

The Ohio Machine’s items were taken between 8 and 9:40 p.m., a police spokeswoman said. The locker room is usually kept locked, but police are investigating whether a door was left open, she said.

Hofstra University referred the theft to Nassau police and is cooperating with the investigation, according to university spokeswoman Karla Schuster.

New York Lizards spokeswoman Sarah Rauth confirmed the break-in, but said she couldn’t provide more details. A spokesman and coach with the Columbus, Ohio-based Machine did not respond to requests for comment.

The Ohio Machine clinched the top playoff seed with its 22-13 victory over second-seeded New York. The playoff semifinals will be Saturday at Fairfield University in Connecticut. The finals will be Aug. 20 in Georgia.

With Ted Phillips

By David M. Schwartz

dschwar1@newsday.comschwartznewsNY

David Schwartz covers environmental issues. A native Long Islander, he's worked at Newsday since 2013.