Coming off an 11-3 season, including 10 consecutive victories to open the season, and an appearance in the Colonial Athletic Association Championship semifinals, Hofstra Head Men's Lacrosse Coach Seth Tierney heads into his 12th season with the Pride looking to finish the job that was left incomplete last season.

The Pride, who started off the year so well with those 10 straight wins to climb as high as number two in the country in both the United States Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association Coaches Poll and the Inside Lacrosse-Maverik Media Poll, fell short of their CAA Championship goal on an unfortunate, fluke goal in the conference semifinals. That sudden ending has left a bad taste in the mouths of Hofstra returnees since last May.

Armed with 31 lettermen and eight starters, Hofstra will be looking to dethrone three-time champion Towson and return to the top of the CAA and into the NCAA Division I Championships in 2018. While the Pride return 10 of their top 11 scorers from last season, that one player lost to graduation-Josh Byrne-is a whopper to replace. Byrne led the Pride and the CAA in scoring with 41 goals and 25 assists and was named to the USILA All-America third team in addition to winning the CAA Player of the Year Award and all-conference first team accolades.

Despite the loss of Byrne, Hofstra returns a tremendous and experienced line-up that includes 17 seniors and talent all over the field. Pride senior tri-captains goalie Jack Concannon, defender Brett Osman and midfielder Dylan Alderman provide leadership and experience up and down the field.
 
GOALIE
Defensively, the Hofstra talk begins with 2017 USILA All-American second team selection, senior Jack Concannon. The two-time All-CAA first team selection played all but 15 minutes last season and recorded an 11-3 record with an 8.80 goals against average, 161 saves and a .571 save percentage. Concannon, who was named to the 2018 Inside Lacrosse Preseason Media All-America first team, recorded double-digit saves nine times last season including a career-high 19 stops in a win over Providence.

Sophomore Robert Casey, who was the only other goalie to see time for the Pride last season and that was all of 15 minutes in a lopsided victory over NJIT, and freshman Jacob Coleman, a two-time all-division and All-Suffolk County selection from Riverhead High School, will be backing up Concannon.

DEFENSE
The Pride defense lost an underrated starter Michael Diener, who was second on the team with 41 ground balls while forcing nine turnovers and scoring twice, to graduation but returns the other two starters who both received all-conference honors. Senior preseason All-American Brett Osman, who earned CAA first team honors after forcing 10 caused turnovers and picking up 25 ground balls in 2017, was named Hofstra's 2018 Nicholas Colleluori Tribute Award recipient for his determination and leadership. Classmate Tanner Griffin, who could also see action at the long-stick midfielder position, had 28 ground balls and 11 caused turnovers to earn CAA second team honors in 2017.

The final starting spot should provide a good battle between a couple of returnees bouncing back from injuries and several newcomers. Red-shirt junior Liam Blohm saw action in just five games last year while red-shirt sophomore Jonathan Warg is coming off two leg injuries. Junior Brian Philbin, a transfer from Mount St. Mary's College who started all 14 games for the Mountaineers, and freshmen Keegan Santos, a two-time All-North Carolina selection from New Hanover High School in Wilmington, North Carolina, and Long Islander Michael Peco, an All-Nassau County selection from powerhouse Massapequa High School, should give the Pride some depth on the back line.

MIDFIELD
The two Hofstra midfields return intact from last year's squad although there could be some shuffling around. Two All-CAA first team midfield selections, Dylan Alderman, who tallied 18 goals and 18 assists, and Brendan Kavanagh, who posted 23 goals and six assists, also return for their senior seasons after starting all 14 games in 2017. Alderman was selected as one of the 2018 Pride tri-captains while Kavanagh was the Nicholas Colleluori Tribute Award recipient last year. Senior Alex Moeser, who added career-highs of 16 goals and eight assists while starting all 14 games in 2017, also returns for the Pride.

The second midfield will present another battle between veterans and key newcomers. Senior Dale Stasco played in 14 games and tallied two goals and two assists at midfield last season. Junior James Kitchen and sophomore Ryan Kinnard, who have both seen limited action, will be looking for more playing time in 2018. Freshman Dominic Pryor, an All-American and an All-Long Island selection at New York State champion, Ward Melville High School in 2017, was a three-sport athlete in high school and has impressed the coaching staff. Classmate Bryce Tolmie, a big Canadian from Whitby, Ontario, was an All-Prep and All-Area selection at The Hun School in New Jersey.

On face-offs last season, the Pride plans were thrown into chaos during the preseason when three-year starter and senior Kris Clarke suffered a preseason injury that pushed freshman Kyle Gallagher into the spot. Gallagher's story was unique in itself as he suffered a serious injury just before the start of the school year and wasn't expected to play in 2017. While Clarke returned for the sixth game of the year, he wasn't close to 100 percent and only took 78 face-offs. Gallagher took 220 face-offs and won 105 and added two goals and two assists with 64 ground balls.

While Gallagher is the front-runner for the face-off job in 2018 he will be challenged by two newcomer transfers in sophomore Brendon Luu, a transfer from Colgate who was an Under Armour Underclassman All-American at Chaminade High School on Long Island, and freshman Brian Herber, who joins the Pride after one semester at Penn State following a four-year career at Smithtown East High School.

The short-stick defensive middie position has plenty of depth with the return of seniors Luke Gomez, who played in all 14 games last year and tallied two goals and two assists while forcing four turnovers and picking up 12 ground balls, and Brenden Lynch, who also played in 14 games and tallied three assists, five caused turnovers and picking up 29 ground balls. Junior Griffin Barnathan, also played in all 14 games in 2017 and picked up 16 ground balls. Senior Mitch Kingsley, who has been plagued by injuries over his career, will be looking for more playing time after moving from attack for 2018. Graduate-student Mark Ellis, who comes to Hofstra after graduating from Stony Brook, is athletic and gives the Pride more depth. Freshman Corey Kale is another three-sport athlete who was an All-American and All-New Jersey selection at Robbinsville, New Jersey.

The pole spots also have experience and depth led by red-shirt junior Liam Blohm, who played in just five games last season due to injury after playing in all 15 in 2016. Sophomore Michael Altmann played in 12 games last year as a true freshman. They will be joined by red-shirt seniors John Puckhaber, who played in 13 games last season, and Cole Considine and sophomore Eric Wenz, who also played in 13 games. Junior Joe Cuccias, who did not see any game action after transferring from Washington College last year, give the Pride more depth at the pole after switching from the short stick.
 
ATTACK
While Hofstra lost its top scorer in 2017 Colonial Athletic Association Player of the Year Josh Byrne, who went on to earn Major League Lacrosse Rookie of the Year honors as well as being the number one pick in the National Lacrosse League Draft, the Pride lost just three more goals to graduation last May.

While Byrne has graduated, two starters do return on attack for the Pride in 2018. 2017 CAA Rookie of the Year, sophomore Ryan Tierney, and junior Jimmy Yanes return after combining for 51 goals and 21 assists. Ryan Tierney, who was also named to the All-CAA second team, recorded one of the best freshman seasons in school history, posting 31 goals and 16 assists while starting all 14 games. Yanes was fourth on the team in goals and fifth in points with 20 goals and 25 points.

The third starting spot on attack, as well as back-ups, will also provide a good battle for both returnees and newcomers. Freshman Dylan McIntosh, a big newcomer from British Columbia, showed great potential during the fall season. Senior Matt Perettine will be looking to challenge for the starting role in his final year. Fifth-year senior Trevor Kupecky, who missed all of last season with an injury, will be looking to return to his 2016 form when he tallied nine goals and seven assists in 14 games. Senior midfielder Christian Durkota, who also missed last season with an injury, is being looked at on the attack line in 2018. In another move, graduate-student Tyler Fleury, whose career has been plagued by injuries, is being moved from defense to attack.