Hofstra, Stony Brook seek lacrosse titles

Stony Brook and Hofstra appear to have a clear path to the NCAA Tournament. It begins Wednesday night where each is the top seed and host in their respective four-team conference tournament. The winner gets an automatic bid.

No. 8 Hofstra (13-1) plays Delaware (9-6) in a CAA semifinal, while Stony Brook (9-3) meets Binghamton (7-7) in the America East. Both games start at 7 p.m.

Hofstra has a huge opportunity. It already is slated to host the North Quarterfinal on May 22. A victory over Delaware (9-6) will place the Pride in the conference final Saturday against the Massachusetts-Penn State winner.

Hofstra could get a home game in the first round.

"I would think that we would be in the conversation," Hofstra coach Seth Tierney said. "It would be up to the committee on seeing how things go. In my opinion, I would think that we [would] be considered. I'm just focusing on Delaware at this point in time."

Delaware handed Hofstra its only loss, 7-6, March 19 in Newark. "The revenge factor certainly is on our side," Tierney said, "but that doesn't guarantee you anything. They need to win as much as we do. This game certainly means a ton to them."

Hofstra probably has enough of a resume to make the NCAAs even if it does not win the CAA. But Tierney and his players have their sight -- and hearts -- set on making it to the quarterfinal. "[Hofstra's] willingness to go out and spend the amount of time, effort, finances to host the quarterfinals, it's a lot of work," Tierney said.

Hofstra has thrived on an offensive output from Jay Card (27 goals, 14 assists), Jamie Lincoln (27, 9) Stephen Bentz (23, 12) and Ian Braddish (16, 14). The defensive unit is keyed by seniors Mike Skudin, Steven DeNapoli, Tim Holman and Adam Mojica. Andrew Gvozden (5.42 goals against average) has been stellar in the cage. "They've had one hell of a year," Tierney said. "And it's not over yet."

Stony Brook will look for its second straight conference title. If it beats Binghamton, it would face the winner of Hartford-UMBC at home on Saturday.

"It feels good to come through [the conference] unscathed [at 5-0], if you will, two years in a row," said coach Rick Sowell, who was named the conference's coach of the year for the second straight season. "That says something about this team. It's probably not a big surprise to most people but projecting and thinking it can be done and actually getting it done are obviously two different things."

The Seawolves have no margin of error in the one-bid America East. The Seawolves made it to the quarterfinal last season, where they lost at home to Virginia. "I think our guys realize, you win, you move on, you lose, your season's over," Sowell said. "We've been looking forward to this opportunity; we had a taste of it last year. We have a good group of guys back that haven't forgot that feeling. We're chasing that feeling."

Sowell likes the defensive effort of this season's team led by Kyle Moeller (37 ground balls, 22 caused turnovers) and the steady work of goalie Rob Camposa. Faceoff specialist Adam Rand has a .633 percentage. Conference player of the year Jordan McBride (31 goals, 6 assists) and Kevin Crowley (26, 22) are finishing up outstanding careers.

Freshman hopes to rally Suffolk CC from sideline

Nick Schneider scored four goals in his first game for Suffolk Community College. He scored two more in the second but left the third after feeling ill. He was diagnosed with Guillain-Barre syndrome, a rare disease that attacks the central nervous system and leaves the victim with severe muscle weakness.

Schneider recalled the initial night of his hospital stay in March. "They said, 'Let's take your blood pressure standing up' and my legs gave out," he said. "That's when I got scared."

He spent more than a week in the hospital and has received rehabilitation since his release in mid-March. "I am up and walking very slowly, I still can't do stairs," he said from his home in Rocky Point. "I still use crutches, slightly, but it's a huge turnaround from where I was."

Coach Brendan Chamberlain said he would petition the NJCAA for Schneider to receive a medical redshirt, so the player may have two full years of eligibility on the JUCO level.

Schneider will be back with his team for the first time on Friday night when it plays Nassau CC for a spot in the district championship. "I'm going to talk to the team and hopefully give them a little inspiration," Schneider said.

PLAYER OF THE WEEK

Claire Petersen, Adelphi junior midfielder

Petersen had four goals and eight assists as No. 1 Adelphi completed an undefeated regular season (16-0) by defeating Southern New Hampshire, 24-3. Petersen, who has 49 goals and 103 assists, established an NCCA record with 152 points for the season, breaking the mark of 143 set by West Chester's Stephanie Kienle (CQ) in 2008. Yesterday, Petersen was named the Northeast-10 player of the year. Adelphi earned the top-seed for the NE-10 tournament, which it will host this weekend.

COUNTDOWN

Days to:

NCAA men's quarterfinal at Hofstra: 17

NCAA women's Division Il Final Four at Adelphi: 17

NCAA women's Final Four at Stony Brook: 23

RANKINGS

Division I - Men

1. Syracuse (13-1)

2. Cornell (11-2)

3. Johns Hopkins (11-2)

4. Notre Dame (10-1)

5. Maryland (10-3)

6. Denver (11-2)

7. Duke (12-5)

8. Hofstra (13-1)

9. Virginia (9-5)

10. Villanova (11-3)

13. Stony Brook (9-3)

Source: United States Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association

Division I - Women

1. Maryland (18-1)

2. North Carolina (12-5)

3. Northwestern (15-2)

4. Florida (14-2)

5. Duke (13-4)

6. Stanford (16-2)

7. Penn (11-4)

8. Albany (15-0)

9. Loyola (14-2)

10. Dartmouth (11-3)

Source: Intercollegiate Women's Lacrosse Coaches Association

Division II-Men

1. Le Moyne (12-1)

2. C.W. Post (15-1)

3. Mercyhurst (10-2)

4. Limestone (15-1)

5. Adelphi (13-2)

6. Mercy (11-2)

7. Dowling (10-3)

8. NYIT ( 10-4)

9. Mars Hill (11-4)

10. St. Michael's (9-5)

Division II-Women

1. Adelphi (14-0)

2. Le Moyne (14-1)

3. Limestone (16-0)

4. Lock Haven (14-2)

5. Stonehill (13-1)

6. (tie) Dowling (11-2)

West Chester (10-1)

8. C. W. Post (10-3)

9. Rollins (11-4)

10. Gannon (12-4-1)

Junior College-Men

1. Onondaga (15-0)

2. Nassau CC (11-3)

3. Essex (12-2)

4. Monroe (13-5)

6. Suffolk CC (10-6)

Source: National Junior College Athletic Association