Hofstra Athletics

Springs Sports Prepare for Another Winning Season 

The spring season at Hofstra features some of the University’s most successful teams. The men’s lacrosse program has been to the NCAA Tournament four consecutive seasons, a program-first, while the softball team is a perennial NCAA Regional participant. The women’s lacrosse team has been a contender for the conference title in recent years, while the baseball program is on the rise under Coach Patrick Anderson. 

The Seth Tierney-led men’s lacrosse team graduated one of the best players in program history in All-American Jay Card, but the team does return seniors Brad Loizeaux (six goals, four assists) and Steve Serling (three goals, six assists in four games), and juniors Ian Braddish (16 goals, 17 assists) and Adrian Sorichetti (12 goals, one assist), among others on the offensive end. The defense is strong, led by juniors Cody Solaja, Mark Mullen and Corey Caputo. The Pride also boast one of the nation’s top face-off specialists in All-American John Antoniades and are solid between the pipes with the return of senior All- American goalkeeper Andrew Gvozden. 

The softball team, led by Hall of Fame Coach Bill Edwards, will look to return to the top of the CAA after being upset in the CAA championship last season. The team is bolstered by the return of its two ace starting pitchers – junior Olivia Galati and senior Erin Wade. Galati has been the CAA Pitcher of the Year in each of her last two seasons and set Hofstra records last season for wins (29) and strikeouts (348). Wade won 11 games for the Pride in 2011 and added 109 strikeouts. Galati could also spearhead the Pride offense as she batted .343 a season ago. Juniors D.J. Slugh and Tessa Ziemba also return and will provide boosts on the offensive end. Slugh hit .338 last year, while Ziemba hit .335 with 10 doubles and 44 RBIs. 

The Pride women’s lacrosse team returns seven of its top eight scorers from 2011, led by All-CAA performer Jill Maier, who tallied 37 goals and three assists as a sophomore last season. Junior Clare Brady, who posted 15 goals and a team-best 17 assists, also returns and will be looked upon by Head Coach Abby Morgan to be a playmaker on the offensive end along with senior Maryann Miller. Miller had eight goals and five assists a year ago. Sophomores Jenn Ward, Lindsay McKinnon and Alex Mezzanotte, and junior Jackie Ardolino also provide the Pride with some scoring punch. Senior defenders Lizzie Zorovich and Chrissy Jones will anchor a relatively young defensive unit in front of keeper Jackie Pandolf, who returns for her senior season. 

The baseball team, under Coach Patrick Anderson, has a solid nucleus of players returning, led by first team All- CAA selection Danny Poma. The senior outfielder batted .382 last season with 16 doubles, 28 RBIs and 20 stolen bases. Senior third baseman Joe Perez, junior first baseman Jared Hammer and sophomore catcher Matt Reistetter, who was a third team All-CAA selection last year, also return and should be regulars in the starting lineup. Perez led the team with nine home runs last season, while Hammer hit .358 to rank second on the team. Reistetter batted .270 as a freshman and also did a good job in handling the Pride pitching staff, which is anchored by junior David D’Errico and sophomore closer Bryan Verbitsky. 

Arcadia Publishing and Author Chris R. Vaccaro ’07 to Release Book on Hofstra Athletics 

In collaboration with Arcadia Publishing, author Chris R. Vaccaro is proud to announce the forthcoming release of his fifth book, Hofstra Athletics, in Arcadia Publishing’s Images of Sports series. 

Hofstra Athletics is set for release in mid- to late-January, and orders are now being accepted for presale. The cost of the book is $21.99 plus $4 for shipping and handling (USPS Priority Mail). For bulk orders or for more information, please call 516-HOF-TIXX. The book may also be ordered online at GoHofstra.com.

Since its founding in 1935, Hofstra University has built a strong reputation in the collegiate sports world. Thousands of athletes have represented one of Long Island’s finest private universities, winning countless championships and helping to create a foundation of history that is remembered today. Hofstra Athletics strings together a pictorial history of Hofstra’s well-known coaches and athletes, championship teams, and players who achieved success on the professional level. 

This book captures nearly 200 images of student-athletes, coaches, administrators, facilities and many other aspects of the Hofstra community. With captions accompanying every image and photos dating back to the 1930s, this book is a must for any Hofstra fan. Hofstra Athletics features a foreword by Craig “Speedy” Claxton, one of the most prolific athletes to attend Hofstra. He was selected in the first round of the NBA draft in 2000 and spent 10 seasons in the league. He led the Pride to an NCAA tournament appearance, was inducted into the Hofstra Athletics Hall of Fame in 2011, and had his jersey number (10) retired. 

Chris R. Vaccaro, an award-winning journalist from Long Island and a 2007 graduate of Hofstra University, is the author of four previous books on Long Island sports history and has written for more than 100 publications nationwide. He is an editor with AOL’s Patch.com, adjunct professor of journalism at Hofstra University, and a board member for the Press Club of Long Island. 

Arcadia Publishing is the leading local history publisher in the United States, with a catalog of more than 6,000 titles in print and hundreds of new titles released every year. 

Established in 1993, Arcadia has blended a visionary management approach with the innovative application of state-of-the-art technology to create high-quality historical publications in small local niches. 

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