Hofstra solves Drexel goalie for a victory

The monkey on the back of the Hofstra lacrosse team was nearly piggybacked by a gorilla -- All-American goalie Mark Manos of Drexel.

But Jay Card, Aaron Jones, Jamie Lincoln and Torin Varn each scored two goals as No. 8 Hofstra got the proverbial monkey -- at least the species coach Seth Tierney referred to -- off its back by beating Drexel, 11-6, for its first Colonial Athletic Association victory of the season at Shuart Stadium Saturday.

"We got the orangutan off our back," Tierney said. "It was a good, solid win at home. Obviously, questions have been asked about how we were going to to bounce back from injuries, and it's a work in progress."

Manos, all 6-2, 270 pounds of him, tried his best to pile a second straight CAA loss on Hofstra, making 11 saves. But seven players scored for the Pride (7-1, 1-1), which has won 13 straight at home.

Steve Serling, out for the season with a lacerated spleen, and Drew Coholan, out with a shoulder injury that could place him in the same predicament, has left Hofstra's midfield line depleted. Enter Jones, who had scored only one goal this season before tallying two against Drexel, including the go-ahead score.

"Those guys are coming in and doing a great job," said Card, whose two goals moved him into fourth place on the school's career scoring list at 108.

Manos made four stops in the first quarter, including a pair of impressive kick saves. But Hofstra popped the lid off the game with its fast-break tempo.

Card tied the score at 2 off a feed from faceoff man John Antoniades -- who was 15-for-21 on draws -- just five seconds after Drexel (5-4, 1-1) had scored. Jones made it 3-2 at the 3:32 mark of the first quarter on a ripped shot. Despite outshooting Drexel 39-15, it took precision shots to get past Manos.

"Obviously, he takes up a lot of the goal," Tierney said. "You have to put it in a coffee can ."

Or just get it past him before he knows what hit him. During a 6-0 run that made it 7-2 with 6:57 left in the first half, Hofstra scored twice off faceoffs and Card scored on another breakaway goal off a turnover.

Steve DeNapoli scored only 11 seconds after Jones made it 3-2. At the half, he wanted to make sure he still had the "green light" to take off after scooping up ground balls on faceoffs.

"Big boy," Tierney recalled saying to DeNapoli, "it's St. Patty's Day every year till you graduate."

Robert Church led Drexel with two goals and three assists, but that was a far cry from the seven goals he scored in last year's 13-11 win over the Pride. Revenge was on Hofstra's mind against a team it has handled easily in the past (21 wins in 24 meetings). Said Tierney: "It was a long ride home from Philadelphia [last year]."

The ride to Maryland for Saturday's game at Towson won't be as laborious. Hofstra won't be toting any type of monkey on its back.

Notes & quotes:Hofstra has adopted 4-year-old Dylan Beach of St. James as part of the Friends of Jaclyn Foundation, a non-profit organization that improves the quality of life of children with brain tumors. Said Tierney: "He's tougher than any guy we've got in the locker room."