At halftime, it looked to be anybody's game, as the Loyola and Hofstra men's lacrosse teams battled on even terms through the first 30 minutes, which ended in a 4-4 tie.

With the resumption of play, however, it was as if the fourth-ranked Greyhounds decided to relax and let the game come to them. This approach worked well and Loyola went on to ground the Flying Dutchmen, 10-4, yesterday in the season opener for both teams at Rip Miller Field in Annapolis.

"[Goalie] Jim Brown had to keep us in it early as some of the bad shots we took allowed [Hofstra] to get out on us and pressure our goal," said Loyola coach Dave Cottle. "I said before the game if it remained close we'd be in trouble, and that's what it was."

That's when the clamps were applied on Hofstra's attackmen by defenders Dave Metz, Tim O'Hara and Joe Rodriguez, and Greyhounds front-liners Mike Battista, Gewas Schindler, Tim O'Shea and Todd Vizcarrando began blistering the Hofstra cage.

While blanking the Dutchmen over the last 35 minutes of play, Loyola rarely allowed its rival to proceed past midfield. Hofstra didn't have an open shot at Brown over the first 18 minutes of the concluding half.

Conversely, during the latter stages of the second period, the visitors had four straight point-blank shots at the senior goalie from Davidsonville and he turned away every one. It was his day.

O'Shea started the Loyola breakaway at 3: 40 of the third period. Less than two minutes later, Gunnar Goettelman, on a feed from O'Shea, was on the board. Less than a minute after that, Battista checked in with his second goal. The rout was on.

Just as impressive as the scoring blitz, coming from all angles, was Loyola's ability to control the ball for long periods. And when, on occasion, Hofstra did break up the slow, patient attack, Loyola was able to get the ball back almost immediately.

As opposed to the first half, there was very little transitional play, Hofstra's forte.

"When we tried to make plays too quickly after getting into the offensive end, we never were able to get into any sort of flow," Cottle said. "We had to correct that and we did. It's a good start."

That is exactly what Loyola needed in its opener, since the Greyhounds visit top-ranked Johns Hopkins at Homewood Field on Friday night.

NOTE: The Greyhounds have won their last four games against America East opponents, outscoring them 40-22.

Pub Date: 3/07/99