Oct. 1, 2001
The Matchup: Stony Brook (3-1-1) gets the America East portion of its schedule underway on Tuesday against an old nemisis--the University at Albany. The Seawolves come off their first setback of the season, while UA dropped a 3-2 loss to Howard in overtime last Friday.
Series History: The Great Danes lead the all-time series 14-8-2. The series has been extremely competitive the past two seasons, with the two teams going to overtime the last three times they have played. Last year's match ended in a 2-2 tie, as Albany scored twice in the final 16 minutes to erase a 2-0 deficit to the 25th-ranked Seawolves.
In that game, Shane Arikian opened the scoring with a pass from Everett Watts, then set up Watts 12 minutes later for a 2-0 edge.
However, Albany tallied twice in just a seven minute span to force overtime, and neither team managed to net the gamewinner.
Dan Ferrin made a career-high 10 saves for the Seawolves.
Last Time Out: Hartwick College scored three goals in the final 21 minutes to pull out a 3-0 non-conference victory over Stony Brook on Friday night in the Hawks' season opener.
Hartwick got off 10 first-half shots but Seawolves goalkeeper Dan Ferrin made six saves to keep the Hawks at bay. SBU had several opportunities of its own, including midfielder Akil Jordan's bullet that nearly gave Stony Brook the early edge, but the ball bounced off the crossbar.
Despite several good chances, the Hawks did not manage a goal until Matt Strode scored on a penalty kick with 20:23 remaining. Sophomore forward Rob Catana got Hartwick's insurance goal with about 11 minutes later.
The Seawolves had another unlucky shot carom off the crossbar in the second half, as Jaime Serna's potential goal hit the bar, bounced off the ground and nearly into the net.
Instead, the Hawks closed out the scoring with just four seconds left in the game, as Percy Avetrani tallied when he netted a rebound. Ferrin knocked away the original shot by Greg Victor, but went down after the two players collided. The ball went directly to Avetrani who scored with Ferrin still on the ground.
Ferrin equaled his career-high with 10 saves in the game.
Scouting the Great Danes: Albany is 3-3, led by Ashtian Holmes' four goals and two assists. The Great Danes have outscored their opponents 16-15. Trevor Serraro has seen most of the action between the pipes, recording a GAA of 2.14 in nearly 464:00.
The teams' only common opponent is Binghamton, who Stony Brook defeated 1-0. UA cruised to a 4-1 win over the Bearcats on Sept. 22.
Hey Jude: Freshman Jude Osei Bonsu made his first career goal one to remember, as the midfielder headed in the gamewinner against Sacred Heart three minutes into overtime last week. The win marked the Seawolves' fourth straight victory over the Pioneers.
Osei Bonsu has made his mark early this season, providing a spark off the bench. He assisted on Jamie Gaither's gamewinner against Binghamton on Sept. 12.
Live by the Shutout, Die by the Shutout: The Seawolves' first loss of the season against Hartwick continued a trend that dates back to 1999 -- the 3-0 setback marked the ninth straight loss that SBU has failed to score.
All four of SBU's defeats last season were shutouts. Stony Brook finished 4-13-1 in 1999, and the Seawolves did not get on the board in six of those losses, including the last four of the season.
Ironically, 10 of Stony Brook's 12 victories last season also came by way of shutout, which set a new school record. The Seawolves have blanked one opponent, Binghamton, so far this year.
News and Notes: Freshman back Mike Salvador got his first start and scored his first collegiate goal against Sacred Heart last week . . . the Seawolves face just one more non-conference opponent, Adelphi . . . the rest of SBU's remaining 12 games are against conference foes.
