April 21, 2008

Stony Brook, N.Y. - Stony Brook faces off tomorrow night against Long Island rival Hofstra in a non-conference contest that will be broadcast live on MSG-TV. It will also be the final home appearance of the season for the Seawolves, with 11 seniors playing in their last home game for Stony Brook. It will be a challenging week for the Seawolves as the Hofstra game will be followed up by the final America East game at Albany on Saturday, making it two straight games against opponents getting votes in the national polls. This past Saturday a goal 15 seconds into overtime from freshman Kevin Crowley gave Stony Brook a dramatic, 7-6, win at Binghamton, a victory that clinched a spot in the America East Tournament for the Seawolves. It also gave Stony Brook its third straight win, a season-high. Despite being held to its second-lowest goal total of the season, Stony Brook continues to be one of the most prolific offenses in the nation, coming in this week ranked in the top-10 nationally. Freshman Jordan McBride, who scored three times at Binghamton, is third in the country in goals per game, with Crowley and senior Rhys Duch among the top five in assists this week. McBride and Crowley are 1-2 in the nation among freshmen in scoring.

The Series

Stony Brook and Hofstra have had a relatively short-lived series, playing once in each of the last four seasons, but it has already shown to be a highly competitive one with each team winning twice. Last season Stony Brook came up with the upset at Hofstra, getting a goal from Owen Adams that won it in overtime, 13-12. It was one of a career-high four goals for Adams, with Ryan Hughes adding three for the Seawolves. Home or away does not seem to matter so far in the series, with each team 1-1 on its own turf. The last time the two met in LaValle Stadium it was Hofstra coming away with an 18-8 decision. In the Stony Brook wins the margin of victory has been 2.0 goals, in the Hofstra wins it has been 9.0.

A Look at the Pride

Hofstra comes into tonight's game ranked #20 in the nation with a 6-5 overall record after dropping a 13-9 decision at #13 North Carolina on Saturday, a loss that snapped a three-game winning streak. The Pride have defeated three teams that are in the polls this week during the season, getting wins over Brown, Johns Hopkins and Delaware earlier this season. Freshman Jay Card leads Hofstra with 22 goals, 29 total points and three game-winning goals and is one of four players with 20 or more points on the team. Junior Anthony Muscarella paces the squad with 12 assists this season. Sophomore Danny Orlando has been solid in goal, sporting a 7.87 GAA to rank among the top-20 in the nation.