TOWSON, Md. – Senior midfielder Ryan Carter (St. Ignatius H.S./San Francisco, Calif.) scored the game-winning goal with 3.2 seconds left in regulation, as fifth-ranked Hofstra University (9-1, 5-0) rallied from a 10-7 deficit to win its seventh straight game, an 11-10 Colonial Athletic Association victory over Towson University (5-7, 3-2) at Johnny Unitas Stadium on Saturday afternoon.

The Pride, who clinched a share of the CAA regular season title with the victory, trailed by three goals with 8:33 remaining before rallying to defeat the Tigers for the fourth time in the last five meetings. After the Pride took a timeout with 10 seconds remaining, Carter scored on a shot from six yards out past junior goalkeeper Rob Wheeler (Friends School/Baltimore, Md.) to give Hofstra a one-goal advantage. The Pride won the ensuing face-off and earned the victory.

"Turnovers were a big problem for us today," Towson Coach Tony Seaman said. "That's why Hofstra is ranked fifth in the country and we're not. That's why they're 9-1 and we're not."

The Pride took a quick 3-0 lead with three unassisted goals before junior midfielder Pat Britton (Seneca Valley H.S./Germantown, Md.) led a four-goal run by the Tigers, giving Towson a 4-3 advantage with 9:23 remaining in the second quarter.

After senior midfielder Anthony Muscarella (Wantagh H.S./Wantagh, N.Y.) tied the game at 4-4, Britton and junior midfielder Will Harrington (Friends School/Baltimore, Md.) tallied back-to-back goals to give Towson a two-goal lead with 12:44 remaining in the third quarter. The teams exchanged goals twice before Harrington scored his second goal of the game, an unassisted goal with 0.7 seconds remaining in the third quarter to give Towson a 9-6 advantage.

Freshman midfielder Brad Loizeaux (The Tatnall School/Mullica Hill, N.J.) scored an unassisted goal with 10:49 remaining in the fourth quarter to narrow the margin to 9-7 before freshman attackman Sean Maguire (Calvert Hall H.S./Lutherville, Md.) regained the Tigers' three-goal cushion by scoring off a feed from senior attackman Bill McCutcheon (Chatham H.S./Chatham, N.J.) with 8:33 left.

With 6:31 remaining, Carter scored off a feed from senior midfielder Michael Colleluori (Ridley H.S./Holmes, Pa.) to ignite the Pride's four-goal run. Muscarella and freshman attackman Kevin Ford (Floral Park H.S./Floral Park, N.Y.) also scored goals to tie the score at 10-10, setting the stage for Carter's heroic effort.

Muscarella led the Pride by scoring a season-high four goals while Ford added the first "hat trick" of his college career with three goals. Making the first start of his college career, Britton scored three goals to lead the Tigers in the loss while Harrington added a pair of goals. Senior midfielder Mitchell Rosensweig (Pikesville H.S./Baltimore, Md.) won 16 of 25 face-offs along with a season-high 13 ground balls.

Wheeler had 13 saves in the loss for Towson as the Pride outshot the Tigers by a 38-28 margin.

The Tigers will complete their Colonial Athletic Association schedule next Saturday afternoon when they travel to the University of Delaware for a 1:00 p.m. game against the Blue Hens. The game will be broadcast in the Baltimore area on WTMD-FM 89.7.

Meanwhile, the Pride will host 10th-ranked North Carolina next Saturday night at James M. Shuart Stadium at 7:00 p.m.

* * * *

Towson, MD – Hofstra senior Ryan Carter scored his second goal of the game with just three seconds remaining to cap a furious fourth quarter comeback and give the #5 Pride an 11-10 CAA victory over Towson (5-7, 3-2) at Johnny Unitas Stadium Saturday afternoon. Hofstra won its seventh consecutive game to improve to 9-1 overall and 5-0 in the CAA.

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2009-04-11