I was bored, so here we go. Hofstra finished last year 11-3 after starting 10-0, reaching #2 in the country. The Pride lost in the CAA semifinals, meaning they lost out on a shot at the NCAA tournament. Regret is high, and they're looking for revenge.

In terms of personnel, the Pride return 17 seniors and oodles of starts. Only two starters are gone from last years squad, but their biggest offensive threat last year was one of them. Josh Byrne scored 41 goals for the Pride and was the 2017 NLL rookie of the year.

The Pride are strong at goalie, with a senior starter who played all but 15 minutes last year. He's healthy and ready to go.

Defensively, the Pride return 2 of 3 from last year's starters, including preseason All-American Brett Osman. They will be a stout unit, who will look to shut down the Buckeyes all afternoon.

In the midfield, 4 seniors return for the Pride at offensive midfield, including the entire 1st line. The second midfield is intact as well, but could see a HS All American named Dominic Pryor make some waves. They will be a handful for the Buckeye middies.

The Pride have a returner at FOGO, but aren't particularly strong at the position. Gallagher, the presumed starter, was under 50% on the year, and 2 unknown transfers could rotate. Look for the Buckeyes to have a decided advantage at the X.

At attack, 2 starters return for Hofstra, who combined for 51 goals last year to complement Josh Byrne's 41. While solid, the two starters will have a lot of ground to make up with Byrne's loss to graduation. The third spot could be taken by a Freshman from Canada, Dylan McIntosh, who supposedly had a good fall on offense. The other options are all coming off injury, didn't break the starting lineup for 3 years, or are transitioning from other positions. If I had to call it, I would call McIntosh the frontrunner.

In summary, this game is going to be a solid indicator of how good the Buckeyes really. The Pride has an experienced, talented squad, who will play hard for coach Seth Tierney.

Amateur prediction: Buckeyes win, 8-6.

Source for preview: http://www.gohofstra.com/news/2018/2/15/mlax-2018-hofstra-mens-lacrosse-...