BY RODERICK BOONE
The Hofstra men’s lacrosse team’s reward for winning the CAA Tournament championship is a date with defending champion Johns Hopkins at 2:30 p.m. Sunday in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.
The Blue Jays (8-5) drew the No. 5 seed in the 16-team field and will host the Pride in a rematch of the March 8 contest in Hempstead, which Hofstra (10-5) edged Hopkins 8-7 in overtime to earn its first win over a No. 1-ranked team. That defeat was the beginning of a five-game losing streak for the Blue Jays, but they’ve rebounded following a 3-5 start. Hopkins has won five straight, is ranked fifth in the nation, and is in the tournament remarkably for the 37th consecutive season.
Unranked Hofstra, currently riding a four-game winning streak and feeling good about itself after storming back to top Drexel 10-9 in overtime Saturday to win its second CAA tournament title and ninth league tournament championship in program history, is 4-13 all-time in the NCAA Tournament. The Pride is making its 14th appearance and second in three seasons.
The winner meets either Navy or fourth-seeded North Carolina in the quarterfinals, which are scheduled for May 17-18.