When Marquette steps on the field at James M. Shuart Stadium Saturday to face No. 19 Hofstra, it expects to see a team seeking vengeance.

“I told our guys we are going to get the angriest, most motivated team that we have ever faced,” Amplo said. “I know how motivated they are not just to beat us. Those guys want to knock us down, step on us, jump on top of us and make sure that we can’t get up.”

“The ball is going to be irrelevant for the first five minutes of the game,” Amplo said. “It is going to be an absolute street fight.”

The animosity stems from the Golden Eagles’ victory against Hofstra playing a big part in the Pride missing the NCAA Tournament last season. Marquette defeated Hofstra 11-9 in the Pride’s season opener, which was arguably the program’s biggest victory prior to this past weekend.

Hofstra was just edged out 11-10 by Drexel in the Colonial Athletic Conference Championship. The Pride hoped for an at-large bid, but the 11-5 squad ended up as one of the top ranked teams on the outside looking in.

“Some of the kids on our team actually know some guys on theirs,” senior defenseman Logan Tousaw said. “They were talking some smack to them this summer… We expect a battle. There are a lot of tough-nosed Long Island guys on that team.”

Marquette is coming off an 11-9 victory against No. 16 Lehigh, and looking for a second straight victory against a top-20 program. Another win could mean Marquette enters the USILA Top 20 rankings for the first time.

“It would be huge,” Tousaw said. “Just looking at Inside Lacrosse, kids trying to find somewhere to go. Kids know the name because of guys like Dwyane Wade and our basketball program, and then they see that we have a good lacrosse team. If we keep on a roll, we keep winning against top-20 teams, better players will come here.”

Redshirt junior Kyle Whitlow said the idea of being ranked will not affect the team’s preparation for the game.

“It really doesn’t matter,” Whitlow said. “Every game we are going to fight and we’re going to try to win. Top 20 or not, we’re going to make the most of it.”

For the second weekend in a row the Golden Eagles will face a top flight attackman. Last game it was junior Dan Taylor; this week it is a very different player in junior Sam Llinares. The CAA Preseason Player of the Year has scored a point in 29 straight games.

“I think he’s a first-team All-American,” Amplo said. “I think he’s one of the best players out there… He’s very dynamic. You can’t specifically game plan for him, because you don’t know exactly what you’re going to get.”

Unlike Taylor, redshirt junior B.J. Grill’s strengths will be highlighted with the Llinares assignment according to Amplo. The 5-foot-9 attackman is a better size matchup for the 5-foot-5 Grill.

It will be another early game for the Golden Eagles, as faceoff is scheduled for 11 a.m.