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Ian Braddish Hofstra Lacrosse
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Hot Pot Of Lax: Hofstra Lacrosse Is Transfer City

Beware!  This week’s Hot Pot goes Deeper!

When Joe Amplo left Hofstra, you knew a couple guys would head on over to Marquette with him.  Maybe those were guys lower on the depth charts who wanted to play, maybe they liked Coach Amplo, or maybe they just wanted to be part of the first team at MU.  Or maybe they transferred for educational reasons.  Either way, it was expected.  But there has been a flurry of activity lately and some of it is definitely worth noting.

Jeff Tundo is leaving THE Ohio State University, and joining the Pride.  He’s an Orchard Park kid, and maybe he just wanted to come home.  He could have the same impact, or larger, that UNC transfer Ian Braddish had last year for the Pride. So this is a good pick up for Hofstra.  It also looks like OSU goalie, Ryan Brant, may be headed to LI as well.

Ian Braddish Hofstra Lacrosse
Ian Braddish now for Hofstra Lacrosse!

Photo courtesy lax.com

On the other hand, the Pride lose 5 players to Marquette.  All in all, 2 defensemen, 2 midfielders, and an attackmen left, and while none were tapped to be the next big star, they are, for the most part, solid players who could have seen time eventually.  And this won’t be it.  At least that’s my bet.  More guys will leave, and more guys will still come in.  Juco players can still transfer in, and Hofstra has benefited greatly from Nassau Community College’s success, and will continue to do so for at least the near future.

Some people would look at this as a negative, and immediately begin to question what was going on with the Hofstra Men’s Lacrosse program.  But, in my opinion, they would be jumping to the wrong conclusions.  Hofstra has done this for years.  They cycle guys out who aren’t working, and bring guys in from other places, and it’s usually Long Island guys coming home.  They put together different teams from year to year and have players who star for a year, maybe two, and then graduate.

But like I said, this doesn’t have to be a negative, if Hofstra truly embraces it, which they seem to be doing.  They could create an easy come, easy go atmosphere, where players come in and out at will, but that would be too loose for continued success of the program.  They could ratchet it down, but then they might miss out on some great players, and Seth Tierney doesn’t seem like the kind of coach who wants to keep unhappy kids from leaving.  It’s a fine line, but they seem to be walking it well.

Now Tierney has been at Hofstra for a while.  And now is the time where he has to prove that this formula works.  He needs to bring in one or two more big name guys, keep bringing in the HS talent, and make a run.  And while LI is one of THE hotbeds of the game, Hofstra has been competitive for years, but they’ve never really contended in most people’s minds.  But lacrosse on Long Island is great right now.  And it’s time for the ‘Stra to step it up.  I like their recipe so far, think it had paid some dividends and made them attractive to potential players, but unpredictable to opponents.  And they don’t even have football!  Lax could be KING!  All they need is that National Championship.

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IN OTHER NEWS:

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– Princeton’s Wiedmaier Off to Help in Uganda | Laxpower.com

– Do you even know what the WLA is?  You should.  Sweet Canadian Summer boxla | Canada.com

– They’re trying to keep Lacrosse Alive in Florida! | Florida Today

– Best Lacrosse Save you’ll see all day? The Deadspin guys think so.  We’d agree | Deadspin

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LACROSSE VIDEO OF THE WEEK:

Seriously, did you not watch the above video of the save?  Well now you have to.  Deal with it.  It’s Awesome anyway.