Scott Dooley - Hofstra
Hofstra drubs Duke 14-6
At-Large Bid in sight for Pride
By Scott Neiss
There was a full moon over Hofstra Stadium as 5,995 fans were in attendance to watch the #9 Hofstra Pride rout the #7 Duke Blue Devils by a score of 14-6. Kevin Cassese had four goals and an assist, but it wasn't enough to keep Duke in the game.
Both teams began the game playing outstanding defense, and A.J. Kincel rose to the occassion with five saves in the quarter. Kevin Brennan started the scoring three minutes in, hitting the corner of the net on the first shot of the game for Duke. Duke showed outstanding ball movement Alex Lieske followed it up, putting Cassese's pass over Jack Alaimo's shoulder. Tom Kessler responded for Hofstra, running along the crease from behind the net and scoring on a wrap-around shot.
The Pride started the second quarter on fire. Scott Dooley hit a huge outside shot on the fast break pass from Adam Hananel to notch the game at 2. One minute later, Paul Defendini nailed a 25-yard rocket to give the Dutchmen a 3-2 lead and bring the crowd of 5,995 fans to their feet. Scott Dooley scored his second goal from the outside to continue the run, and Paul Rao followed it up slamming the ball into the upper-left corner of the cage to score the fifth in a row for Hofstra.
But the Blue Devils wouldn't go away... At least Kevin Cassese wouldn't.Winning the faceoff for Duke, Cassese immediately responded to Rao's goal, taking the momentum out of Hofstra. Cassese scored again for Duke, flipping the ball past Alaimo only a minute later to cut the lead to a goal.
The Hofstra defense picked it up a notch, and shut down Cassese (and the rest of Duke's offense) for the rest of the half. Scott Dooley helped on the other end, picking up a rebound from Kevin Dougherty and firing it in the net for a 6-4 lead. The teams were ready to go to the locker rooms, however, Paul Rao broke through the sleeping Duke defense and easily scored for the 7-4 lead, with only ten seconds left in the half.
Rao started the scoring in the second half, catching the pass from Adam Hananel and putting the ball past Kincel. Cassese responded, scoring on the man-up from 20 yards out. Jim Femminella and Brian Walker came back for the Pride and putting them up 10-5 after three quarters.
Kevin Cassese scored his fourth of the game early in the fourth, but the rest of the Duke offense was dead. Kevin Dougherty quickly came up the offensive end and fed a beautiful behind-the-back pass to Steve McTigue, who nailed a beautiful behind-the-back shot into the net, bringing the crowd to their feet again. The game started to unravel for the Blue Devils, as they racked up penalty after penalty.Hofstra scored on the man-up three times to finish up the game, on goals by Jim Femminella, Mike Morrison and Brian Walker.
Duke falls to 7-6, finishing the season with a prayer of qualifying for the NCAA Tournament. Hofstra improves to 10-3, winning their eighth consecutive game. The Pride host North Carolina on Wednesday night at 7:30 PM to finish out the season, possibly a must-win game for both teams with huge implications as the Pride vie for one of six at-large bids.
