diff --git a/solr/solrj/src/java/org/apache/solr/client/solrj/util/SolrIdentifierValidator.java b/solr/solrj/src/java/org/apache/solr/client/solrj/util/SolrIdentifierValidator.java
index 00d9b83..4cf4cd0 100644
--- a/solr/solrj/src/java/org/apache/solr/client/solrj/util/SolrIdentifierValidator.java
+++ b/solr/solrj/src/java/org/apache/solr/client/solrj/util/SolrIdentifierValidator.java
@@ -26,7 +26,7 @@ import java.util.regex.Pattern;
  * Identifiers are allowed to contain underscores, periods, and alphanumeric characters. 
  */
 public class SolrIdentifierValidator {
-  final static Pattern identifierPattern = Pattern.compile("^[\\._A-Za-z0-9]*$");
+  final static Pattern identifierPattern = Pattern.compile("^(?!\\-)[\\._A-Za-z0-9\\-]*$");
   
   public static boolean validateShardName(String shardName) {
     return validateIdentifier(shardName);