(The Hofstra Pride Men's Lacrosse team begins its 2017 regular season schedule this Saturday, February 18 against Monmouth University at James M. Shuart Stadium. Game time is 1 p.m.)

Hempstead, NY - As Seth Tierney begins his second decade as Hofstra Head Men's Lacrosse Coach in 2017, the Pride will be looking to build upon an eventful 9-6 campaign from a year ago. Hofstra jumped out to a 3-0 start to the 2016 season including wins over fifth-ranked and eventual national champion North Carolina in the season opener and an overtime thriller over Princeton.

After the Pride stumbled a bit with three losses in four outings with the only positive being a win over 20th-ranked Ohio State, Tierney righted the ship to lead Hofstra to five wins in the next six contests. But the Pride closed out the regular season with a one-goal loss against 10th-ranked and eventual Colonial Athletic Association champion Towson before dropping an 11-8 decision to Fairfield in the CAA Championship semifinals.

While Hofstra reached some of its goals in 2016, a conference championship and a return to the NCAA Division I Men's Lacrosse Championships slipped by the wayside. In the process, graduation forced the Pride had to say good-bye to several key members of the team over the past four years. Three-time all-conference selection and 2015 CAA Player of the Year Sam Llinares closed out his outstanding career by finishing in the top 10 in career goals, assists and points despite a painful hip injury over his final two seasons. Defender Finn Sullivan graduated with three all-conference awards and the 2016 CAA Defensive Player of the Year in hand. In addition, the Pride graduated two more 2016  All-CAA selections in midfielders Korey Hendrickson and Brian von Bargen, who both posted career-best seasons.

The cupboard is far from bare heading into the 2017 season as Tierney has 29 returnees, including five starters, and 12 eager and talented newcomers from which to mold a winning team. Despite taking a big hit from graduation at midfield and key hits on attack and on defense, eight seniors will help lead the Pride into the new season. The goals are the same in 2017 with the exception that there is a dangling carrot way down the road as Hofstra will host one of the 2017 NCAA Division I Lacrosse Championship quarterfinal doubleheaders at James M. Shuart Stadium. But before that goal can be attained, several others must be accomplished to get there.

"The staff is very excited about 2017 as a lot of the nucleus is back," Tierney stated. "We did lose some key players who shouldered the load last season. But they also did a good job in molding this season's guys. We look forward to getting the season started and having this team take on its new identity."

GOALIE
Hofstra returns 2016 All-CAA first team selection Jack Concannon to the goal in 2017. The junior from Lindenhurst, New York, started all 15 games and played in all but 15 minutes last season. He finished second in the CAA and 10th in the nation in save percentage with a .568 mark and was second in the conference and 14th in the country in goals against average with an 8.56 per game mark. After playing in just four games in 2015, Concannon's star shined brightly last season and remains on the rise as his 2017 Inside Lacrosse Face-Off Yearbook Preseason All-America third team selection indicates. Freshman Robert Casey, a two-time All-Nassau County selection at Wantagh High School on Long Island, will back up Concannon this season.

"Jack is coming off a pretty good season in 2016," Tierney says. "He has worked hard and hopefully, he will continue to be one of the top goalies in the conference and the country. Bobby Casey has done a great job of learning from Jack and following in his footsteps."

DEFENSE
The Pride defense lost just one starter to graduation but it was a big hit in 2016 CAA Defensive Player of the Year Finn Sullivan. The durable defender, who started all 45 games over his final three seasons, was second on the team with 45 ground balls last season. But the Hofstra does return an experienced trio who each played in all 15 games in 2016. Heading the list is junior Brett Osman, who started all 15 games for the Pride last year after transferring from Marist College. He scooped up 23 ground balls and forced five turnovers in his first season in Hempstead. Senior Michael Diener played in 15 games and started 10 for the Pride in 2016. He picked up 14 ground balls last season and has played in 27 games with 20 starts the past two years. Big things are expected out of 2017 Preseason All-CAA selection Tanner Griffin. After starting all 14 games and earning CAA All-Rookie team honors in 2015, Griffin, a junior, picked up 25 ground balls and forced six turnovers while playing in 15 games with five starts last season.

Senior Pat Joy, who saw limited action last season, and newcomers Michael Altmann, an All-American and All-Maryland selection from Chesapeake High School, and Eric Wenz, a two-year standout at St. Anthony's High School on Long Island, will be waiting in the wings for playing time.

"While Finn (Sullivan) was our leader on defense last year, I do believe that the core is back in Griffin, Osman and Diener," Tierney said. "Tanner has been focused and returns in great shape. Osman, who is now in his second year with us after transferring from Marist, has a better grasp of our defensive schemes following a learning curve while Diener is our lone senior in that group and anchors down the third spot. We also like our second group who all had good fall seasons and will be pushing for playing time."

MIDFIELD
The starting midfield took the biggest hit from graduation last year with the loss of All-CAA first team pick Korey Hendrickson and All-CAA second team honoree Brian von Bargen. Hendrickson was second on the team in goals with 29 and third in points with 38 while von Bargen was close behind with 28 goals and seven assists for 35 points. But junior Brendan Kavanagh returns to the starting line-up after playing in all 15 games with 11 starts. The 2017 Nicholas Colleluori Memorial Tribute recipient tallied 10 goals, including the overtime winner at Massachusetts, and 13 assists as a sophomore.

Juniors Dylan Alderman, who played in 11 games and started four last season, and Alex Moeser, who played in 10 games in 2016, appear to be the front-runners to join Kavanagh on the first midfield. Alderman contributed seven goals and two assists last year while Moeser, who posted one assist in 2016, had an outstanding fall.

While the midfield is the deepest segment on the Pride team, Hofstra is not immune to injuries and suffered several issues during the preseason that could impact the line-up, especially the second midfield. Junior Mitch Kingsley, who played in five games last season, was expected to anchor the second midfield with classmate Dale Stasco, a 2016 transfer from Saint Joseph's in Philadelphia, and freshman Riley Forte. But injuries struck all three during the preseason with Forte the most serious and he is likely to miss the season.

Those injuries will cause a restructuring that could open the door to playing time for several less experienced players like junior Tim Golden, sophomores James Kitchen and Brian Cameron, and newcomers Ryan Kinnard and Joe Cuccias.

"Starting with Alderman, Kavanagh and Moeser, who all got time as sophomores, we are hoping that they will step up this year," Tierney said. "Those three guys and Hendrickson and von Bargen were the five that got most of the time last season. Alderman is coming into his own as a strong dodger, Kavanagh has shown glimpses of being a very good player and Moeser had a very good fall in dodging and making better decisions. I think we have up to eight guys who will be fighting for time."

On face-offs, senior Kris Clarke returns after another outstanding season in the 2016. The two-time All-CAA first team selection led the conference and was 20th in Division I in face-off winning percentage with a .572 mark. The 2017 Preseason All-CAA selection also led the league and ranked 11th in the nation in ground balls with 86 while also adding two assists in 2016. Freshman Kyle Gallagher, the 2016 CHSAA Face-Off Player of the Year from St. Anthony's High School, will back up Clarke. "Kris is coming off another good year in 2016 and we are looking to him to be totally focused in every scrimmage and every game this season."

The special team midfielder spots have experience and depth. At the poles, red-shirt sophomore Liam Blohm returns after playing in all 15 games and recording 25 ground balls and eight caused turnovers for the Pride in 2016. Red-shirt junior John Puckhaber, who saw limited action last year after playing in 14 games in 2015, will also have a long-stick as will newcomer Lawrence Galizia, a St. Anthony's High School product who was voted the Long-Stick Midfielder of the Year in 2016. "We are hopeful that all three will get playing time this season," Tierney said. "If we don't use all three poles, we know that it will be at least two of the three and be a good battle. But Liam Blohm has the edge over the other two entering the preseason."

The short-stick defensive midfielders are highlighted by a trio who all played in 15 games last season. Senior Tommy Voelkel, who is entering his second season as team captain, and juniors Luke Gomez and Brenden Lynch provide the Pride with experience and talent in this area. Red-shirt junior Cole Considine, and newcomers Griffin Barnathan, a transfer from Air Force via Nassau Community College, Kyle Sliwak and Kevin O'Keefe provide addition depth in this segment. "We have seven guys in this area and Brenden Lynch leads them as a returning two-year player," Tierney stated. "Both Tommy Voelkel, one of our team captains, and Luke Gomez, who had a solid off-season, round out the top three after receiving plenty of experience last year."

ATTACK
While the Hofstra attack did lose Sam Llinares and his 28 goals and 11 assists from last season to graduation, the Pride does have some strong firepower on attack. Leading the way is 2016 All-CAA first team selection Josh Byrne. The senior from British Columbia led the Pride in goals with 30, assists with 15 and points with 45. He ranked second in the CAA in points and third in goals and assists in 2016. Senior Trevor Kupecky was also expected to return to the starting attack but suffered a season-ending injury in the fall and will be lost for the year. That opens up the attack for sophomore Jimmy Yanes, who was selected to the English National Team in January and returns after missing the 2016 season with an injury, and freshman Ryan Tierney, a two-time All-American who tallied 49 goals and 26 assists as a senior at Massapequa High School.

Senior Zachary Franco, who posted seven goals and one assist in seven contests last season, red-shirt junior Tyler Fleury, who has battled injuries the past two seasons, and juniors Matthew Perettine and Christian Durkota, who each saw limited action in 2016, will be pushing for playing time.

"The attack will have two new faces on it and has very good potential," Tierney says. "Outside of Josh (Byrne), this year's attack will be less experienced but the potential is there to be a very good unit depending upon how they jell. Due to injuries during the fall we didn't get as good a look of some players as we wanted. We will have to play differently with different players, so we will see how it plays out in the preseason."