By Andrew Coen
Social media sites like Facebook, MySpace and Twitter were not in our vocabulary. President Obama was a largely unknown Illinois state senator and the sport of lacrosse was not nearly as popular as it is today, with no national television for the quarterfinal doubleheader that year.
On May 16 the lacrosse quarterfinals will be returning to Hofstra’s 13,000-seat stadium at a time when the sport has surged in popularity on the national stage. Both games of the doubleheader, starting at noon, will be featured on ESPNU. The winners will punch their tickets to the Championship Weekend festivities at Gillete Stadium in Foxborough, Mass., where 48,970 saw the title game between Syracuse and Johns Hopkins last year.
“We think [the quarterfinals at Shuart Stadium] will be even bigger than in the past since lacrosse has grown so much,” said Hofstra Athletic Director Jack Hayes.
After hosting the quarterfinals from 1997-1999 and then in 2001 and 2002 before huge crowds, Hofstra stopped holding the event due to the logistics of graduation being held at Shuart Stadium the same weekend. However the Hofstra facilities staff has now worked out a plan to hold the quarterfinals on Saturday and still be able to set up for graduation festivities the next day. If the quarterfinals are a success and all goes smoothly that weekend, Hayes is hoping to see Hofstra host the quarterfinals in future years as well.
“Long Island is passionate about lacrosse and educated about the sport,” said Hayes on why he pushed to bring the NCAA quarterfinals back to Nassau County. “I feel it’s our responsibility when the opportunity presents itself to bring these types of games to Long Island.”
Large crowds are expected no matter which teams come to Hempstead, but particularly if hometown Hofstra Pride makes it past the first round. In 1999 when Hofstra played on its home turf in the quarterfinals against Johns Hopkins, a record 12,292 fans attended, and in 2001 when the Pride battled Syracuse in Hempstead, the attendance was 10,550.
Other potential quarterfinal participants such as Cornell, Princeton, Syracuse, Massachusetts, Notre Dame, and Maryland would also be big draws, due to the many Long Islanders on their rosters and numerous alumni in the New York City area. The Hofstra quarterfinals will feature the winners of first round games this weekend between Hofstra-Cornell and Princeton-UMass as well as the Notre Dame-Maryland and Syracuse-Siena matchups.
Nearly 4,000 tickets had already been sold by late April. Thousands more are expected to be bought leading up to the event after the four participating teams are known. If the weather cooperates and some high-profile teams are in the quarterfinals, May 16 has the potential to be Shuart Stadium’s first sell-out.
“I think we can have a great crowd,” said Hayes. “You’re going to get four of the best eight teams in the country so the quality of play will certainly be high.”
In addition to the high-caliber lacrosse action, Hofstra officials are setting up a “Quarterfinal Hospitality Village” for tailgating with family, friends and clients just outside Shuart Stadium on the football practice fields. Hospitality packages are available for the tailgating parties including tents and catered food.
The first face-off for the May 16 quarterfinals will be at noon with the second game starting around 3 p.m. For further information, call 516-463-TIXX or www.hofstra.
edu/athletics.
Photo: Mom's Day
A berry special Mother’s Day
Moms play a lot of roles in life – nurse, teacher, comforter, chef, peace maker, chauffer, and so many more. They deserve a big “thank you” every day and something special on Mother’s Day.
When it comes to honoring our moms every spring, flowers are one of the most popular gifts to show appreciation. While flowers are lovely, there are many other options for celebrating mom and motherhood in special ways that build great family
memories.
Whisk her away. Mom will enjoy being “kidnapped” from the daily routine and whisked away on a surprise outing! Think about taking mom on a picnic, on a nature walk, to an art museum, or someplace else that’s special to her.
Create a care package. If mom doesn’t live nearby, make her a special Mother’s Day care package. Some baked goodies or a new photo book will mean a lot when you can’t be together.
Give her the day off. Take away mom’s “to-do” list and take care of those chores and errands for her. Make sure the kids and meals are taken care of and let her do what she wants to unwind. She’ll love it!
Be the chef. Have the whole family plan a special Mother’s Day menu and cook it together. Make sure it’s something you can handle – getting frustrated over a recipe that’s too complicated won’t help anyone enjoy the day. Or go out for dinner and come home to a special dessert.
Finish off the day with this “berry” special Chocolate Chip Strawberry Shortcake. It’s fun to make and looks so pretty on the plate! The chocolate chips are a fun – and delicious – twist on the usual shortcake recipe.
Chocolate Chip Strawberry Shortcake
3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/3 cup granulated sugar
4 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) cold butter, cut up
2 cups (12-ounce package) semi-sweet chocolate morsels
1 1/2 cups buttermilk
12 ounces whipped cream, or 1 container frozen light whipped topping, thawed
4 cups sliced strawberries
1. Preheat oven to 400 F. Grease baking sheets.
2. Combine flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt in large bowl. Cut in butter with pastry blender or two knives until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Stir in morsels. Stir in buttermilk with a fork just until moistened. Knead 2 or 3 times on floured surface. Pat to 3/4-inch thickness. Cut into sixteen 2 1/2 x 2 1/2-inch diamonds; place on prepared baking sheets.
3. Bake for 12 to 14 minutes or until lightly browned. Remove to wire racks to cool
completely.
4. Cut one shortcake in half horizontally. Spread the bottom half with whipped topping; top with strawberries. Cover with shortcake top; layer with more whipped topping and strawberries. Repeat with remaining shortcakes. Serve immediately.
Makes 16 servings. Nutrition Information per serving: 380 calories; 160 calories from fat; 18g total fat; 12g saturated fat; 25mg cholesterol; 360mg sodium; 50g carbohydrate; 3g fiber; 20g sugars; 5g protein; 40% vitamin C; 10 % calcium.
