NCAA Lacrosse Player Blogs: Hofstra’s prep for Cornell, Card-isms and Freedom Tour Bus customization

The Game

It’s tourney time! After a tough loss in the CAA playoffs, the Dutchmen were fortunate enough to receive an at-large bid to the playoffs and a matchup with Cornell up in Ithaca, NY. It should be a great game. The first whistle blows at 5pm Saturday, May 9th on ESPN U. So if you can’t make it to the game, make sure to tune in on the U.

YouTube Video of the Week

I dedicate this week’s YouTube video of the week to Mr. Tom Dooley and the rest of Ranger nation.

Interview with Sean Lucas

1. What is your most memorable non-lacrosse experience?
Two weeks in Puerto Rico this winter with some friends and family. It’s really nice there. Great waves. I love it.

2. If you could have dinner with any three people dead or alive, who would it be and why?
Thomas Jefferson- I would like to hear what he would have to say about the state of our country. Marcus Luttrell- He’s a true American Hero. Joe Frasier

3. If you could switch places with anyone in the world for a day, who would it be and what would you do?
Brian Schneider and be a true American.

4. What are your top 5 movies ever?
1. Forest Gump; 2. The Shawshank Redemption; 3. Fletch; 4. Chevy Chase’s Christmas Vacation; 5. Top Gun

5. What is your Favorite Song?
“Club Love” - Taylor Swift and Usher Mashup.
Runners up: “Pints of Guinness Make you Stronger” –Against Me
The Downeaster “Alexa” –Billy Joel
“In an Aeroplane Over the Sea” –Neutral Milk Hotel

Word Association with Sean Lucas:

Red, White, and Blue- Common
Long Island- Blow-Outs
Hofstra University- Dutch School
Freedom- Tour
The Swamp- Shanty
Sean Lucas- America
Dutch- Prefix

Freedom Tour

A group of fellow Hofstra lacrosse players led by a Sean Lucas and a few of the seniors recently purchased a mini-school bus. They ripped out the seats, put seats from a conversion van in it, and painted red, white, and blue. The bus will be departing from Long Island at the end of May and traveling across country until they reach Tom Shuey’s house in Texas. This cross-country bus trip will be known as the Freedom Tour. Below are some pictures of the bus and its transformation from a yellow school bus to the Freedom Bus.

The new cheesewagon

Tom Dooley and Sean Lucas

Sean Lucas at work

Work in progress

Work in progress

Work in progress

Work in progress

Ready to Roll

Cardisms and their American Translations

For any of you who have ever played lacrosse with a Canadian, I’m sure that you have noticed that they have a few sayings on the field in that distinct accent that are bit different than what you are normally used to hearing. Well, Hofstra’s very own resident Canadian, Jay Card, is no different. Below are some of Jay’s well-known sayings and nicknames that of course, come with an American translation.

1) Ey Bahd- Hello friend
2) Floodgates- free reign on the goal
3) Egg and spooner- a player with terrible stick skills
4) Cheeswagon- a yellow school bus
5) Dogballs- greasy, old lax ball
6) Busee- bus driver
7) Hairy high helmet- a player who wears his helmet too high and thus looks through the wrong holes on the facemask
8 ) Bobby Bigwheel- someone who is not good with girls
9) Put the dog bone in the chewbin- put the ball in the net
10) YumYums- cute girls

Cardism Nicknames

1) Trunks/Stumpy- Stephen Bentz
2) Marbles- Mike Colleluori
3) Cheese- Ryan Carter
4) Temps- Adam Swarsen
5) Meat- Michael Hamilton
6) Yums- Tom Dooley
7) T-Bone- Coach Tierney

Blog Notables

-Hofstra Junior Tyler Brant turned 21 this week. Happy Birthday Tyler!
- Following the conclusion of this season, I will be entering my name in this summer’s MLL draft. I feel that I am mentally and physically prepared for the league, and am excited about continuing my reign on the professional level. To end any potential controversy, I will be signing an agent after the season. Scott Boras and Drew Rosenhaus have already expressed interest in representing me, but I will be considering all avenues and opportunities presented to myself. I am looking to play on the east coast this summer and am not afraid of pulling an Eli Manning and demanding a trade if I don’t like the team I am drafted by.

As always, till next week, keep your head to the grindstone and God Bless America!

(as seen on InsideLacrosse.com:)

http://blogs.insidelacrosse.com/2009/05/08/ncaa-lacrosse-player-blogs-hofstras-prep-for-cornell-card-isms-and-freedom-tour-bus-customization/

NCAA Lacrosse Player Blogs: Hofstra ‘Cribs’, Volume 2

The Game

The Pride won two huge back to back conference games beating Delaware 10-8 Saturday in the Big City Classic at the Meadowlands and then followed that up with a 12-7 victory over a tough Drexel squad Wednesday night at James M. Shuart Stadium.

Jay Card led the way with five goals and two assists for the Dutchmen and freshman goalie Baby Gvozden made 11 saves Saturday at the Big City Classic to preserve an important CAA victory. Jack Vivonetto and Adam Swarsen led the defense with another all-out effort and Tom Dooley added two important second half goals to help the Pride win on the big stage.

Against Drexel, Tom Dooley led the charge with four goals, including career goal 99, as the Pride won against an extremely resilient Drexel squad. Jay Card and Anthony Muscarella added three goals apiece and junior midfielder Sean Lucas scored the first goal of his career in another conference win. On defense, Steven DeNapoli and Steve Prifte led the charge while Joe Montemurro scrapped his way to another fine outing at the faceoff x.

The Dutchmen travel south next as they face the Towson Tigers Saturday at Unitas Stadium at 1 p.m.

YouTube Video of Week

Check it

Hofstra Dad Celebrity Look-a-Like

Mr. Muscarella-Billy Joel

Interview with Steve DeNapoli

1) What is your most memorable non-lacrosse experience?
Visiting Mike Skudin in Long Beach this past summer was an unforgettable time.

2) If you could have dinner with any three people dead or alive, who would it be with?
Alex Trebek, I love Jeopardy, and Brennan Huff and Dale Doback from Step Brothers.

3) If you could switch places with anyone in the world for a day, who would it be with?
Derek Jeter. I am a huge Yankees fan and he’s the man.

4) What’s your favorite thing to do in your free time?
Schoolwork or logging in some couch hours at the Senior Lax House or napping.

5) Who has been the biggest influence on your life and why?
My biggest influence has to be my brother Dominick. We were very close growing up and he has taught me a ton of life lessons.

6) What was your best childhood experience?
I got to see Roger Clemens win his 300th game at Yankee Stadium.

7) What has been the best vacation that you’ve been on?
My sophomore year in high school, my lacrosse team went to Orlando, FL. We had some great seniors on our team that made the trip hilarious.

What are your summer 2009 plans?
I am currently interviewing to be the next Steve Prifte. Since he has to be at school for football in the fall, his brother Keith needs a partner in crime for the summer. I can say that I am probably a lock for the position.

9) If you could play another collegiate sport, what would it be?
Football. If I was a little taller and bigger, I would love to be the next Wayne Chrebet.

10) What is a little known fact about you?
I have never been outside of the country or west of the Mississippi.

Hofstra Cribs II

For this week’s Hofstra Cribs edition, I visited the Junior lacrosse house, aka “The Swamp” (as evidence by the green paint on the exterior seen below). This house is rumored to have been one of the original houses on Harriet Tubman’s Underground Railroad. It is also rumored to have been built by the Amish in only thirteen hours.

The house members include Dan Stein, Tom Interlicchio, Sean Lucas, Isaac Neal, Tyler Brant, and Kevin Hannon. Although those six are technically the residents of the house, some will argue the house actually has seven residents, with that seventh being Dan Orlando. Cole Koesterer and Mike DeNapoli also visit on occasion. Below the housemates pose for a family portrait in front of their American flag.

Above, we see Dan Stein’s room. He recently switched from a zebra to a tiger theme comforter. Also, if you look closely at on top of bed, you’ll a pair of dog slippers, which Dan recently purchased from the mall and has been known to wear quite frequently.

Above, Tom Interlicchio is hard at work in his room. Tom’s room has been known as the VIP lounge before, during, and after social events. Tom has taken to his role as host DJ during such social events. If you’ve made it into his room during these events, it is a safe to say that you have made it in life as well.

Above is Isaac Neal’s room. Isaac constantly has his cloths “borrowed” from his walk-in closet and would like everyone who still has articles of his clothing(particularly hoodies and sweatpants) to kindly return them and would ask that no one borrow anymore. Isaac thanks everyone for their timely cooperation.

Above, we see Sean Lucas’ room. Fun fact about Sean’s room is that is used to be a kitchen when the Swamp was split into two homes. Also, the house phone resides here.

Above, we see the spot of many bonfires held in the backyard. Naturally, only the usual non-flammable goods are burned such as metal brooms, cans, bottles, and multiple other items that don’t burn. This spot has also seen the end of many pairs of shoes, sandals, and hats.

Above, the housemates are on their way to a pregame meal in Dan Stein’s vehicle, nicknamed Lexington Steele.

House Fun Facts

• Favorite Movie: The Heartbreak Kid- although the house’s favorite genre of movies is scary movies
• Favorite activity: Hitchcocking- This is when one or more people stand in shower and wait for someone to come in and then they frighten that person who just walked in. Named after famous movie director Alfred Hitchcock and the movie Psycho. Tom Interlicchio is rumored to be the most frequent target.
• Holes in the walls are covered up by posters.
• There was no heat in the house this past winter except in Isaac’s room. The rest of the house had to tough it out.
• Dan Stein has had to break down his door three times and Sean Lucas has done the same to his door twice. All five of the incidents occurred because they each lost their room keys.
• Sunday Night has become family television time. Favorite television shows include Entourage, Eastbound and Down, True Blood, and pretty much anything on MTV.
• After nine months of living on a floor bed, Tyler just this past weekend bought a brand new bed frame so now has a real bed on which he can sleep. Tyler also ended up with the smallest of all the rooms and you may be wondering how. Well, in the middle of this past summer, all of the housemates drew straws for who got what room. Since Tyler was busy working back home in Maryland, he was unable to make this house meeting. The housemates, being such considerate and thoughtful guys that they are, had a proxy fill in for him. Tyler still lost the straw drawing and contends to this day that the drawing was fixed.

Till next week, keep your head to the grindstone and God Bless America!

(as seen on InsideLacrosse.com:)

http://blogs.insidelacrosse.com/2009/04/10/ncaa-lacrosse-player-blogs-hofstra-cribs-volume-2/

NCAA Lacrosse Player Blogs: Hofstra Cribs Edition

The Game

The Dutchmen came away with another big conference win this past Saturday as they beat Robert Morris in a CAA matchup 11-5. The big story of the game is that ten different Pride players scored goals including one apiece from the defensive rope of Steve Prifte, Steven DeNapoli, and the first career goal for Tim Holman. In net, Baby Gvozden made eight saves, many of the spectacular kind, to preserve his fourth win in his rookie season. On defense, Adam “A-Bomb” Swarsen and Mike “The Cat” Skudin once again played well.

Up next for the Pride is the Big City Classic at the Meadowlands for another huge conference matchup with the Delaware Blue Hens. It should be another exciting game so don’t miss it!

YouTube Video of the Week

In what will become a weekly staple of my blog, I will be including a YouTube video that will be a must see. This week’s video comes from Mobile, Alabama where it seems a leprechaun is on the loose.

I want the Gold!!!!

Interview with Keith Prifte

1) What is your most memorable non-lacrosse experience?
All of my high school senior year.

2) If you could have dinner with any three people dead or alive, who would they be?
George Washington, JP Morgan, and John Candy.

3) Are you a Mac or a Windows guy and why?
Mac. I’m a sucker for anything with an Apple logo on it.

4) What is your favorite restaurant?
My favorite restaurant at home is called the Library. They have the best salad bar in the world. Up here at school, my favorite is Grand Lux. Their lemonade is unreal.
5) If you live anywhere, where would it be?
The two places I want to move to after graduating are New York City and Washington D.C. I also want to move to a completely random country for a couple years someday.

6) What was your senior high school prank?
On our senior trip to Walt Disney World, we all decided to sprint to the hotel pool at 1am while a certain room played a song. Only about twenty of us did it, but it was hilarious.

7) What was your first college goal?
Well, I only have one and it was the last goal against Sacred Heart last year. It is now famously referred to as my game winning goal. My dad is building an awesome train set which has Hofstra’s stadium on it and that score is going to be on the scoreboard.

If you were stranded on an island, what three items would you want?
A Chic-Fil-A, my friend Bob because he is constant entertainment, and a bom-box.

9) What are your favorite movie performances?
My three favorite movie performances are Mark Wahlberg in Boogie Nights, Tom Hanks in Forest Gump, and Morgan Freeman is The Shawshank Redemption.

10) What is a little known fact about you?
At the end of the summer, my parents and I found a nest of baby flying squirrels in our attic. I took care of two of them for a month hand feeding them with an eye dropper. Unfortunately, they both died for unknown reasons. I’m going to buy two more once I get my own place because they were awesome.

Hofstra Cribs- The 1st Edition

In the first edition of Hofstra Cribs, I visited the Senior Lacrosse House. This has become the go to hangout of the Hofstra lacrosse team after games and for after hour events. The house members include Ryan Carter, Steve Prifte, Tom Shuey, Keith Prifte, and Jack Vivonetto (as seen below). This house also has many very, very frequent weekly visitors such as Anthony Muscarella, Mike Skudin, and Steven DeNapoli (seriously, they are extremely frequent visitors).

The housemates

Down time

In this picture, Tom Dooley, Ryan Carter, Keith Prifte, and Tom Shuey are enjoying some nice quality time together in the main gathering area of the house. Notice on the left wall, the American flag is flying, a natural staple of any real household. On the back wall, we have a holdover from the Devon lacrosse house (the junior house last year). This majestic oil painting was given as a gift to the Priftes and Devon house about eighteen months ago by Lynchburg University’s finest, Bob McGrath. Bob junk picked it at a nursing home that he worked at and knew he had to have it. It has held a place of honor ever since.

Uh oh.

This warning notice was placed over the kitchen sink by Steve Prifte. Apparently, Steve is the only one who cleans dishes in the household and other house members leave their dirty dishes in the sink. Steve has recently had to discard multiple fine china plates due to a lack of effort in the household when it comes to cleaning them. The Senior House now only uses the finest of paper plates.

Senior House kitchen

Red Room Garage

The Red Room Garage (above). It is used primarily for after hour events. The decorating of the Red Room is courtesy of Keith Prifte and Tom Shuey. Those of you who followed the 2008 Presidential Race may recognize the red carpet as it is the same red carpet used for the third and final presidential debate, which was held at Hofstra. Now inquiring minds may be wondering how the house acquired such a token as the presidential debate carpet. Well, Jack Vivonetto was walking around the outside of the basketball arena where the debate was held and saw the red carpet just lying in a dumpster. Figuring it had some sort of value, Jack took almost 200 ft. of this carpet out of the dumpster with the intent of selling it on EBay as a souvenir of the last presidential debate. I mean, such stars as John McCain did walk on it. Anyways, anyone interested in such a wonderful souvenir as the one and only red carpet used for the 2008 third and final presidential debate may contact us. Also, the senior house has the staircase that led up to stage. Again, John McCain walked up those very steps.

NHL '09

Above, we see Steve Prifte and Ryan Carter playing NHL ’09 on PS3. This has become the go-to video game of the 2009 Dutchmen. As a side note, in my one and only game against Ryan Smith and only my second time ever playing, I won 1-0 and thus lead the season series one game to none.

Call of Duty

Above, we see senior captain Jack Vivonetto in his room playing Call of Duty 4 on his Xbox 360. As you may notice, there are stairs in the middle of his room and that may seem a bit odd to readers and rightfully so. That’s because Jack lives in Tom Shuey’s hallway. Jack originally lived in the basement of the house, but because of the HUGE crickets down there, he was too scarred to live down there and decided a move to Tom’s hallway would be for the best.

Sweet FatHead

Above, we see Steve Prifte’s room. Steve is a diehard New York Giants fan so of course, as any diehard fan would, he has a fathead on the wall of perhaps the greatest linebacker to ever play in the NFL, Lawrence Taylor. You may also notice a television stand against the far wall that has no television. His recently went MIA and if anyone has seen it, please contact us immediately.

Carter's spot

Finally, as we see above, Ryan Carter is relaxing on your standard futon. However, you may see several notable items above him. Naturally, the flag on the left side of the wall was a gift from me to the house. To the right of the flag, there is a 2009 Hofstra Pride poster. Above that is a Newsday paper with Bernie Madoff on the cover. The seniors put the picture up because Madoff looks a lot like a certain Dutchmen player’s father. We also have a souvenir towel from a 2009 Giants Divisional playoff game, which they lost.

Senior House favorite place to eat: Ralph’s Italian Ices

An interesting tidbit about the house: The landlord of the house, Tom, is a former Ole Miss quarterback and a former Vietnam pilot, who currently resides in Georgia. One day over this past summer, he came to visit the house and check up on the guys, and the first thing he noticed was that the colors were proudly being flown outside the house. He told the guys how awesome it was that the American Flag was flying and proceeded to say that the United States is not the Land of the Free, Home of the Brave; but rather, it is the Land of the Free BECAUSE of the Brave.

Till next week, keep your head to the grindstone and God Bless America!

(as seen on Insidelacrosse.com: )

http://blogs.insidelacrosse.com/2009/04/02/ncaa-lacrosse-player-blogs-hofstra-cribs-edition/

Hofstra Lacrosse Blog

The Game

(Dan (left) and Michael Colleluori)

What a week for the Hofstra Pride. In back to back nail bitters, the Dutchmen pulled off consecutive one-goal wins over both Sacred Heart and Army.

In the CAA opener for Hofstra, the Pride pulled off a 6-5 win up in Connecticut over a tough Sacred Heart squad. Jay Card scored twice and freshman goalie Andrew “Baby” Gvozden made seven saves, including one in the closing seconds to preserve the win. But perhaps the star of the game was none other than sophomore defensemen and Long Beach native, Mike Skudin. In addition to playing exceptional defense, Skudin also scored his first collegiate goal on a fast break as he stuck one over the left shoulder of the Sacred Heart goalie. He also followed up his goal with an assist to Jay Card, although he was not credited in the official stat sheet with the assist. However, I am currently in the process of correcting this injustice with an appeal to NCAA and expect this issue to be resolved in a timely manner.

In the next game, the Dutchmen won another thriller against an excellent Army team on ESPN U 9-8 in double overtime. Baby Gvozden was the star of the game, as he made a career high 17 saves, including seven stops in the fourth quarter and both overtime periods combined. And who else but “Mr. Clutch” Jay Card scored the game winner, the third goal of the night for him. Michael Colleluori also added three goals and one assist. But perhaps one of the biggest catalysts for the win can be contributed to Hofstra’s number one fan, the legendary Dan Colleluori. You bring a presence to the stands that has not been seen in ages and your relentless cheering motivates and inspires us all! So here’s to you Dan!

Interview with Mike Skudin

1) What’s your most memorable non-lacrosse experience?
When my family and a couple of my friends families went to Barbados on a surfing trip. It was sick.

2) If you could have dinner with any three people dead or alive, who would it be?
I would have dinner with Christopher Wallace (AKA “Biggie Smalls”), Dave Chapelle, and Jesus Christ. I think that would be one interesting and funny sit down dinner.

3) If you could have any superpower, what would it be?
I would want to be able to teleport. I would visit places and go places and still be back in time for practice.

4) What was your first car?
1995 Jeep Grand Cherokee. My twin brother Ian and I split it in high school. It carried the name Firetruck because it was bright red and a beast among other vehicles.

5) What’s your best childhood story?
When my brother Ian and I were little, our neighbor was the grumpiest, meanest old man in the world. One day we stole my mom’s tomatoes from her tomato garden and loaded our lacrosse sticks. We sat in our backyard and unloaded on the side of the house. He came out and we ran inside our house and hid under our beds. He told our parents and got grounded for 2 days. Two days well worth it!

6) What is your biggest fear?
Drowning. I live in Long Beach and all I do is spend time in the water. It would really stink to drown in something you’re so familiar with.

7) Favorite YouTube video and why?
The whistles go “Woo Woo” because the whistles go “Woo Woo”. Shout out to the YouTube king, FREDDY CATENESE!

What’s a typical Sunday for you?
Wake up around 10, 10:15, go to the student center or coliseum deli for some eggs, then drive over to the senior lacrosse house and spend some quality time on the couch or the NHL ’09 sticks. Get dinner around 5 or 6pm and then go back to my room and do some school work when needed.

9) When you were a little kid, what was your dream job?
I wanted to be a Ninja Turtle. My brother Ian and I were addicted to that show.

10) Little known fact about you?
I am the only undefeated quarterback in Long Beach history. It lasted one year in 8th grade. I was amazing at handing the off the ball.

Joke of the week

In honor of our third road victory of the season, a tradition came back. Jokes! Since not many of the jokes told were all that good, I thought I would share perhaps one of the better jokes told in the last four years. This one comes from Mike Skudin.

So there were these three women who escaped from a jail one night, a redhead, a brunette, and a blond, and they were being chased by cops. As they were running, they saw a barn close by and decided to try to hide in there to escape the cops. Once inside, they saw three empty potato sacks and ran over to hide inside them. When the cops made it to the barn, they saw the three potato sacks and walked over to them to investigate them. They poked the first sack with the redhead inside and she said, “Meow, Meow”. The cops go, “There must be a bunch of cats inside that sack”. The cops then walk over to the sack with the brunette and poke that one as well. The brunette goes, “Ruff, Ruff”. The cops go, “Oh, there must be a dog inside that sack”. Finally, the cops walk up to the blond’s sack and poke that one as well and the blond says, “Potato, Potato”.

Dutchmen Cookie Dusters

Sean Lucas

Sean Lucas

Mike Skudin

Mike Skudin

Adam Swarsen

Adam Swarsen

Tom Dooley

Tom Dooley

Steve Prifte

Steve Prifte

Joe “Young Fresh” Caven

Joe Caven

As always, keep your head to the grindstone and God Bless America!

As seen on Insidelacrosse.com

http://blogs.insidelacrosse.com/2009/03/28/ncaa-lacrosse-player-blogs-hofstra-stache-edition/

Hofstra Lacrosse Blog

The Game

(DeNapoli was a 'jack of all trades' in the win)

In a thrilling contest between the #12 ranked Hofstra Pride and the #3 ranked Princeton Tigers, the Pride won a hard fought game against an excellent Tigers team 9-7 Saturday at James M. Shuart Stadium. Anthony Muscarella paced Hofstra with three goals and Ryan Carter added two of his own to go along with one assist. Andrew “Baby” Gvozden was solid in between the pipes notching nine saves for his first collegiate win. “Mr. Jack of All Trades” Steven DeNapoli was all over the field as he scored one goal, picked up four groundballs, and held Princeton All-American midfielder Mark Kovler to zero points. Steve Prifte, Adam Swarsen, and Mike Skudin once again played exceptional defense and Tom Dooley quarterbacked the offense to another fine day on the scoreboard. Up next for the Dutchmen is an away contest at Sacred Heart University in the first of three games over the span of seven days. It is an exciting time to be a Flying Dutchmen and this season is shaping up to be one to remember.

What Pumps up the Hofstra Lacrosse Team?
Every athlete at every level, from football players to lacrosse players to bowlers to bobsledders to curlers to table tennis players to competitive food eaters, has a different method of getting themselves excited for their respective game. Some athletes like to throw on headphones and listen to a little music, others like to pace back and forth to get the blood flowing a bit, while some like to just chill out in the locker room until warm-ups. But what does the Hofstra lacrosse team do to get ready for the big game? The 2009 Dutchmen have a bit of a unique method of getting ready for the game that I can safely say no other lacrosse team in the country does. About 10 minutes before game time, right before we take the field, the entire team gathers in the middle of the locker room for a little bottle dancing. For those readers unfamiliar with bottle dancing, it involves a bottle, a circle of people around the bottle, and one person dancing around that same bottle. For those curious as what song is playing during this pregame ritual, Team DJ Keith Prifte settled on Wild Out by the L.O.X.

Rock n Bowl

In what has become a 2009 season tradition, Friday Nights have taken on a life of their own as a few Dutchmen hit the local lanes to put on a show to rival that of a Roy Munson-Ernie McCracken match. Some of the past participants have included Nick Gunn, Dan Stein, Pat Watson, Tom Dooley, Ryan Smith(recently forced to retire due to an ACL injury, though some, and by some, I mean all, participants believed he should’ve retired anyways due to a lack of talent), Sean Lucas, Adam Mojica, and Brian Schneider. This past Friday even featured a few special guests in Jim “Chops” Gunn and Cory “Cor Cor” Smith. In a hotly contested fracas that saw Sean Lucas fall by the wayside early in the battle, and with Dan Stein unable to find his grove, it came to down to Mr. Tom Dooley and yours truly. With Dooley holding a one point lead entering the tenth frame, and the crowd on the edge of its seat holding its breath in anticipation of each bowlers last spin, Tom, with one foot in the frying pan and one in the pressure cooker, stepped up and delivered the final knockout punch as he took home this past week’s honors with a high score of 144. Mr. Dooley may have bragging rights this week, but no one has come close to my season high of 184. So until next time, enjoy your victory Tom, because as we all know, sometimes a bowler just has to face the music.

Interview with Steve Prifte

1)What is your most memorable non-lacrosse experience?
December 3, 2004-Winning a New Jersey football state championship and going 12-0 is a great memory.
2)What are your favorite books?
Lone Survivor- Marcus Luttrell
At the Center of the Storm: My Years at the CIA- George Tenet
Kill Bin Laden- Dalton Fury
3)If you could have dinner with any thee people dead or alive, who would it be and why?
Lawrence Taylor, because he was an animal on and off the field. Gust Avrakotos (CIA agent in Charlie Wilson’s War), watch the movie and you’ll understand. Chris Farley, no explanation needed there.
4)Who has been the biggest influence in your life and why?
Chris Prifte. He played lacrosse and football at Hofstra and coached my brother Keith and me in every sport from kindergarten to 10th grade.
5)What is the most meaningful gift you’ve ever received?
Keith got me a Pat Tillman Arizona State jersey this past Christmas and that pretty much takes the cake.
6)Who is your favorite U.S. president of all-time?
Ronald Reagan was pretty tough.
7)What is the best sporting event you’ve ever been to?
It’s pretty close between the Giants winning an NFC Championship against the Vikings, a Phillies vs. Blue Jays 1993 World Series game, a Sixers vs. Lakers 2001 NBA Finals game, or seeing Stone Cold take the heavyweight title against the Rock at Wrestlemania 15. But I’d have to say watching the lacrosse final four during Memorial Day weekend is my favorite sporting event.
8)What are your post-graduation plans this summer?
Road trip to Dallas with some teammates. The plan is to head south down the coast, make a right after a while, swing by New Orleans, and end up at Tommy Shuey’s house.
9)What is your favorite summer activity?
Badminton tournaments in the backyard. All challengers are welcome to take a shot at the champ.
10)Favorite Music?
Motown usually gets me going.

Victory Song

In what has become a social tradition for the Pride, a few decided to make this song a victory tradition as well. Keith Prifte, Steven DeNapoli, and Ryan Carter began listening to Maxine Nightingale’s Right Back Where We Started From back in the fall after team lifts and needless to say, they became hooked. They started playing this song at various social events, garnering throngs of fans among the Dutchmen players. As Mr. DeNapoli once said, “It puts us in a good mood”. So when it came to picking a game winning song, Right Back Where We Started From was a runaway winner. Because it’s alright and it’s comin’ ‘long, we got to get right back to where we started from.

Hofstra Coach Celebrity Lookalikes

Coach Matt Rewkowski-Woody Harrelson

(But where's Sydney Dean?!?)

Coach Beach (Hofstra Weightlifting Coach) - The Thing from Fantastic Four

(If you remember the question Jason Lee asks Stan Lee re: Thing in Mallrats, you know why we can't say the joke here)

If anyone has any requests or want to know anything in particular about the 2009 Hofstra Pride on or off the field, feel free to shoot me an email at this address

Till next week, keep your head to the grindstone and God Bless America!

as seen on InsideLacrosse. com

(http://blogs.insidelacrosse.com/2009/03/18/ncaa-lacrosse-player-blogs-hofstra-tops-princeton-talks-books-and-has-a-coach-named-billy-hoyle-not-really/)

Hofstra Lacrosse Blog

The Game

In a game that featured many reunions, from Andrew and Michael Gvozden starting opposite each other in goal, to Coach Tierney and Coach Rewkowski returning to the field where each of them played, to the place where Hofstra was knocked out of the NCAA tournament just last May, the Dutchmen returned to Baltimore and Homewood Field once again with hopes of winning at Johns Hopkins for the first time ever.

However, the day didn’t go as planned as the Blue Jays won 12-7. Attackmen Kyle Wharton notched a career high five goals and goalie Michael Gvozden had twelve saves on the day to lead Hopkins past the Pride. The Pride fell to 2-1 with the loss and have a huge matchup this upcoming Saturday as the #3 Princeton Tigers venture to Long Island and Shuart Stadium for another game of reunions and a matchup featuring two top 15 teams.

The big question for the Dutchmen entering this matchup is how will Hofstra respond to their first loss of the season? Another big question is how will the Hofstra fans greet former Hofstra All-American and 2009 Princeton assistant Kevin Unterstein? This Saturday is sure to be a great matchup in the Dutchdome so don’t miss it!

Notable Hofstra Bus Books

1)Keith Prifte- The Age of Turbulence: Adventures in a New World by Alan Greenspan
2)Steve Prifte- The American Patriots Almanac: Daily Readings on America by William J. Bennett and John Cribb
3)Dan Stein- Smack by Melvin Burgess
4)Anthony Muscarella- The Greatest Generation by Tom Brokaw
5)Tom Interlicchio- At the Center of the Storm: My Years at the CIA by George Tenet

10 Question Interview with Captain Tom Dooley

1. What is your most memorable non-lacrosse related experience?

My most memorable experience is a trip I took with some of my best friends from home and our family’s after our high school graduation. We went on a cruise to the western Caribbean islands. Another memorable trip was the one to San Francisco/Lake Tahoe to visit Ryan Carter with fellow teammates Steve and Keith Prifte, and Anthony Muscarella. Both trips were filled with tons of experiences and memories.

2. What is your favorite thing to do in your free time?

During my free time, I mostly hang around with the guys on my team. We go out to dinner a lot and lately bowling has become pretty popular. Before he went down with his ACL injury, Ryan Smith was putting on quite a show at the bowling alley. His style is very similar to that of Roy Munson from the movie King Pin, hair-do included. However, nobody has come close to my brother Todd’s high score of a 299.

3. What is your favorite holiday?

My favorite holiday is Christmas. You can’t beat the holiday music, decorations, and constant airings of Christmas Vacation and Elf on most movie channels. Throw in a little snow and it’s the perfect time of year.

4. If you could have dinner with any three people, dead or alive, who would they be?

I’d like to have dinner with Babe Ruth so I could ask him about his infamous “called-shot” as well as his social life reputation and some of the stories surrounding it. I would also like to break bread with Pat Tillman, a true American Hero. I would love to pick his brain about who he was and his toughness as a person, athlete, and soldier. Last person I would like to dine with is Jennifer Aniston, most guys would understand this choice.

5. What are your career goals after college?

After graduation, I would like to travel as much as possible before having to step into the real world. My career goal has always been to become a firefighter, so hopefully that will work out somewhere in the future.

6. What are your top five movies of all time?

My top 5 movies in no particular order are Dumb and Dumber, Youngblood, Outside Providence, Backdraft, and Dazed and Confused.

7. What is the best concert you have ever been too?

The best concert I’ve ever been to is a Dave Matthews Band concert at Giants Stadium. During the last few songs, it was thundering/lightening/pouring rain and they refused to get off the stage. Dave Matthews also gave a shout out to my home town of Yorktown, NY, where he lived for a short time.

8. Who are your favorite lacrosse players ever and why?

Favorite lacrosse players are my older brothers Brian and Scott. I went to just about every H.S. and college game of theirs and am still impressed to this day by their skill and knowledge of the game. Besides them, I’d have to go with former Yorktown/Syracuse great Rob Kavovit. I always enjoyed watching old highlight tapes of his days.

9. What is on Tom Dooley’s Ipod before a game?

I don’t listen to anything real serious. Usually some Red Hot Chili Peppers, Tom Petty, and Fall Out Boy to name a few.

10. Who is the better Hofstra lacrosse player, Tom Dooley or Scott Dooley?

Like Coach Smith said my freshman year, I may have a better shot but my brother Scott has the better feet. Overall, I learned most of what I know from brothers so I’m going to have to say that he is the better player. He had great vision and an unbelievable change of direction.

Funny Team Nicknames

1)Isaac “Elliot” Neal

Two years ago during Isaac’s freshman year, senior Ryan Miller thought Isaac’s name was Elliot and called him that all throughout tryouts. There were about 60 kids competing for 40 spots that season, so Isaac assumed Ryan was talking to someone else trying out for the team. However, once the team was whittled down to the 40-man limit, Ryan continued to call Isaac by the name of Elliot. Finally, during a team lift, Isaac asked Ryan who he was talking to, and that is when Isaac finally corrected Ryan. The name has stuck ever since

2)Mike “Worm” Colleluori

There are many myths as to how Michael acquired this name. No one knows the real truth. It is a bigger myth than “Doc” Schneider up at UMass, which I think it’s about time he tells us all why he is called Doc.

3)Tom “Clement” Interlicchio

Named after former NHL player Bill Clement. Legend says that Bill Clement had stone hands so fans would chant “Clement, Clement, hands of cement”. Naturally, Mr. Interlicchio garnered this nickname as well.

4)Joe “Young Fresh” Caven

self-proclaimed nickname.

5)Pat “Loose Bolt” Debolt

One too many concussions has prevented Pat from suiting up for the Dutchmen, so instead, he helps out the coaching staff by working with the goalies and faceoff men. Loose bolt seemed a bit obvious of a nickname, but it works well for Coach Debolt.

Hofstra Player Celebrity Lookalikes

Joe Caven- Vanilla Ice

(Not pictured: Caven rockin' the mic like a vandal)

Dan Pezzolla- Glen Quagmire(from Family Guy)

(You mean THREE Philipino women...)

Till next week, keep your head to the grindstone and God Bless America!

as seen on InsideLacrosse.com:

http://blogs.insidelacrosse.com/2009/03/10/ncaa-lacrosse-player-blogs-hofstras-schneider-on-hopkins-dooley-and-lookalikes/

Hofstra Lacrosse Blog

The Game

The Flying Dutchmen do it again! One week after being down four to UMass, the Hofstra men’s lacrosse team once again dug themselves into what seemed like an insurmountable deficit. Down seven goals against Brown with just over 20 minutes left to play and seemingly with all hope of the first 2-0 start since 1997 gone, Coach Tierney gathered the team during a timeout and delivered one simple message: Relax and just make the next play. Dont worry about the score and just go out and play Hofstra Lacrosse.

Mike Colleluori had a career day against Brown (John Mecionis)

It was a message that resonated throughout the Hofstra huddle and before you know it, a 10-3 deficit had turned into 10-5 by the end of the third quarter. Shortly into the fourth quarter, it was 10-7, then with just over two minutes left, it was 10-9 and another potential miracle comeback was in sight. With 1:02 left in the game, Anthony Muscarella scored the game-tying goal that ultimately would push the game into two extra periods. And who else but Jay Card would score the game winner off a jump shot with just 19 seconds remaining in the second overtime.

The Dutchmen played perhaps the worst first 40 minutes in Hofstra lacrosse history and then followed that up with perhaps the best fourth quarter in Hofstra history. Tim Holman and Steven Denapoli were tenacious on defense causing turnovers all over the field. Joe Montemurro had another spectacular fourth quarter at the faceoff x and Steve Prifte and Christian Scuderi were phenomenal on the wings. Tom Dooley had ice water running through his veins as he settled the offense down late in the game and led the comeback. Mike Collelouri had the best game of his career and Jay Card once again garnered all the headlines as he scored another game winner and his fourth goal of the day in the second overtime.

The theme all day was, Worry about ourselves. Worry about Hofstra. Play our game and the rest will take care of itself. One thing is true about the 2009 Flying Dutchmen: Never count them out.

Next Saturday, we head down to Homewood Field to play the Blue Jays in what should be another exciting contest.

The Bus Ride to Brown

We left Hofstra around 2pm Friday afternoon for Brown with the hopes of returning Saturday night with Hofstras first 2-0 start since 1997. The movie selection for the ride up was the Italian Job. It was a pretty good movie.

Some of the notable bus seat pairings consisted of Brian Schneider-Tom Dooley( bus partners for 3 years running), Ryan Smith-Tim Holman(Holman is filling in the one and only Nick Papa Bear Gunn who is perhaps the greatest cameraman in Hofstra history), Steve Prifte-Mike Collelouri, Keith Prifte-Ryan Carter, Adam Swarsen-Tom Shuey, Anthony Muscarella-Coach Debolt. These parings consist of all seniors except for Mr. Holman and naturally, these pairings consist of the back 3 rows of the bus.

We finally arrived at Brown around 5:30pm and practiced under the lights on one of their practice fields. Afterwards, we all had dinner in downtown Providence before heading back to the hotel. We had a team meeting around 9pm and went over our Brown scouting report and then we were on our own for the rest of the night. Shortly thereafter, a small group of notable team legends gathered in Tim Holmans room to watch Talladega Nights and eat ice cream sundaes. This group naturally consisted of Captain Tom Dooley, Ryan Smith, Brian Schneider, Joe Montemurro, and Captain Adam Swarsen.

Notable Books Read on Bus by Hofstra Lacrosse Team:
Mike Skudin- Lone Survivor by Marcus Luttrell
Adam Swarsen- Kill Bin Laden by Dalton Fury
Brian Schneider- Party of Defeat by David Horowitz and Ben Johnson
Steve Prifte- The Secret History of the American Empire by John Perkins
Jack Vivonetto- Down Range: Navy SEALs in the War on Terrorism by Dick Couch

The Bus Ride Home

The bus ride home saw a Hofstra Lacrosse tradition die.

After the first road victory of the season, Hofstra freshman tell jokes. Winners of this prestigious event are determined by applause. However, due to an executive decision by Coach Amplo - much to everybody’s dissapointment - no jokes were told and sadly a tradition died with the 2009 Dutchmen. Luckily, we watched Body of Lies on the ride home, which was an absolutely phenomenal movie. Leo DiCaprio is continuing his rise in coolness ever since his career low point of Titanic. He made a strong case for himself with The Departed and Blood Diamond just over a year ago and I’m glad to see his career on the upswing. We arrived back at Hofstra around 7pm, unpacked our equipment bags, and had one last team meeting to discuss the big Brown win before everyone headed home.

Ten Question Interview with Goalie Dan Orlando:

Can't imagine what Orlando likes about Katy Perry

Q: What television show do you never miss?
A: I dont really watch much TV, but I dig the show True Blood.

Q: Who is your hero?
A: Conor Oberst, singer/songwriter. Hes a musical genius.

Q: If you could switch shoes with anyone of the Hofstra lacrosse team, who would it be and why?
A: Joe Montemurro. He gets to just hang, take some face-offs, and then hang out some more. Total Bro Status

Q: What is your cell phone ring tone right now?
A: D.R.E.A.M. by the Transplants, because that song is straight poppin.

Q: Who would play you in a movie?
A: Vin Diesel. Pretty self explanatory.

Q: If you could have any job in the world, what would it be?
A: Record producer and/or record label owner

Q: If you could marry any one person, who would it be?
A: Katy Perry. Something about her gets me every time.

Q: If you could change anything at Hofstra, what would it be?
A: Make it cheaper. Everything is so expensive

Q: If you won the lottery, what are the first three things that you would do?
A: 1) Buy a drum set and a nice sound proof studio. 2) Take all my friends out and pick up the tab. 3) Buy a car that actually works, because Ive never had one of those before.

Other Team News

Sophomore defensemen Adam Mojica celebrated his 20th birthday last week. So from my family to you, Happy Birthday Mojo.

Hofstra Captain Tom Dooley and yours truly are finalizing plans for Eurotrip 09. We sat down Saturday morning with Hofstra Lacrosse academic adviser Rachel Peel, a former Olympian for England, to discuss which hot spots we should hit in our tour of Europe, what are some good places to stay, some good sights to see. We have a loose itinerary that calls for visits to England, Amsterdam, Prague, Berlin, Switzerland, Rome, Spain, and Portugal. Rachel gave us some extremely valuable information and along with fellow Hofstra lacrosse player and fellow Marylander Tyler Brants’ parents (travel agents) help, Eurotrip 09 is looking extremely promising.

Till next week, keep your head to the grindstone and God Bless America!

(as seen on InsideLacrosse.com)

http://blogs.insidelacrosse.com/2009/03/03/ncaa-lacrosse-player-blogs-hofstras-schneider-on-the-brown-win-and-related-trips/