STONY BROOK, N.Y. — Stony Brook women's soccer defeated Monmouth, 2-1, to win its first-ever CAA Championship and punch a ticket to the NCAA Tournament for the fifth time in program history.
Linn Beck was responsible for the game-winning goal, earning Most Outstanding Player honors.
HOW IT HAPPENED
Stony Brook held off a ferocious Monmouth attack that saw the Hawks dominate possession early. Monmouth put forward nine of the first 10 shots of the match over the opening 30 minutes of action, but it was the Seawolves who struck first to open the scoring. Reilly Rich played a perfect ball behind the defense into the box that found the head of Luciana Setteducate and eventually the back of the net.
The Hawks had four chances at an equalizer to close the first half, but Nicolette Pasquarella turned away every opportunity. The graduate keeper made seven first-half saves to keep Monmouth off the scoreboard.
Beck padded Stony Brook's lead with a right-footed blast in the 55th minute, assisted by Setteducate.
Pasquarella made her eighth save of the contest in the following moments to again stymie Monmouth's chance at cutting into the Seawolves' lead.
Monmouth finally broke through, scoring in the 79th minute to make it a one-goal game. The Hawks had three final chances over the course of the last 10 minutes of the match, none of which were on target. As the final horn sounded, the Seawolves stormed the field to celebrate the first-ever CAA Championship in program history.
STATS AND NOTES
- Stony Brook won its first-ever CAA Championship, clinching a berth into the NCAA Tournament for the fifth time in program history.
- Beck was named the Most Outstanding Player, scoring what proved to be the decisive goal.
- Pasquarella made eight saves in goal, one shy of her career high.
- Setteducate finished with a game-high three points, scoring the opening goal of the match and providing the primary assist on Beck's game-winning goal.
- Rich tallied the lone assist on Setteducate's goal to start the scoring.
- Monmouth boasted a 28-10 advantage in total shots.
QUOTES FROM THE SEAWOLVES
"Credit to my staff who worked relentlessly all year! We prepared the team to play a more defensive game as we knew we had to take some space away from Monmouth's offensive players," head coach Tobias Bischof said. "The team did an amazing job buying in and we scored two fantastic goals. I'm proud of every single player as it takes the whole team to win a championship."
UP NEXT
Stony Brook returns to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2021. The Seawolves will learn of their first-round matchup on Monday, November 11 during the NCAA Selection Show
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