Loyola's speed proved too much to handle as they won a close battle with Hofstra
with a score of 16-12. The difference in this one was Loyola's ability to
capitalize on odd man rushes that were created by very impressive speed at the
midfield. Hofstra looked like it was going to make a late game rush before they
were penalized on a controversial play which put them man-down and eventually
out of the game.
Mike Battista opened the scoring by putting home a feed right in front of the
net as Gavin Prout faced dodged his man and drew another. Prout put in another
shortly after on an opportunistic bouncing ball in front of the crease. Hofstra
wasn't about to roll over and came back with two of their own. First Scott
Dooley backed in from behind the net and hit Joe Kostolansky for a slam dunk and
then Dooley face dodged his man from goal line extended before scoring as there
was no slide. Loyola's big attackman, figuratively and literally, Tim
Goettlemann danced through three defenseman to put his team back on top 3-2. On
the next face-off Peter Haas gave a mini clinic on how to shoot on the run. He
burned down the field at full speed, he's fast, and shot the ball opposite hip
like good coaches always taught him. Hofstra was not to be outdone and Doug
Shanahan had to give Loyola a taste of the cannon. Shanahan can shoot the ball
a ton and he let one go from the restraining line to bring his team within one.
Hofstra put another one in to tie it up at four at the end of the
quarter.
In the beginning of the second quarter they started where they left off. Loyola
went up by two and then Hofstra tied it up. Loyola pulled away a bit as the
second half ended with the score of 10-8. It could have been worse however,
Hofstra goalie Michael Demeo absolutely stoned a loyola middie who had beaten
his man and took a shot from only fourteen feet out.
The teams traded goals again in the third as Loyola held on to the two goal
cushion ending it with a 13-11 tally. It was only due to some unlikely heroics
as Joe Barile threw a bounce shot lefty from five yards inside the restraining
line with one second on the clock. The shot hit the upper right hand corner
with pin point accuracy.
Going into the third quarter the Hofstra squad looked as if it was poised to
make a late game rush with a second wind. Shanahan caught a Loyola midfielder
breaking out on a clearing pass. While the player was looking back and catching
a buddy pass he stood him up with a clean body check that sent the ball out of
bounds. Instead of gaining possession for his team Shanahan was sent to the box
for a high check. The call was ridiculous and it sealed Hofstra's fate as
Loyola capitalized on the man-up to go up 14-11.
Settled offense for these two teams was basically a wash. Loyola's transition
was the difference as they moved their bodies and the ball too quickly for
Hofstra to recover. Loyola's midfielders are extremely fast and create many odd
man rushes. They scored two thirds of their goals standing in front of the goal
on feeds whether it took one, two, or three quick passes. A notable performance
was supplied by the longstick and longhaired middie Brian Spallina. He was out
there for Hofstra hounding Loyola's offensive players all day and was quite
impressive.
Loyola Out-runs Hofstra, 16-12

Loyola Out-runs Hofstra, 16-12
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