Oct. 25, 2001

The Matchup: Stony Brook (4-6-2, 1-5-1 America East) hopes to get back on the winning track this weekend with conference games against local rival Hofstra and Drexel. The Seawolves come off a tough weekend with losses to Northeastern and Boston University. Hofstra (8-5-1, 5-2) defeated Towson 4-3 in overtime on Sunday for its third straight win.

Series History: Hofstra, which leads the all-time series 8-4-5, beat the Seawolves 2-0 in 1994 in the last meeting between the teams.

Last Time Out: The Seawolves faltered over the weekend, suffering 5-0 and 6-1 setbacks against Northeastern and Boston University. The losses kept SBU winless in its last four outings.

The Seawolves' only goal on the weekend came from junior Kevin Cameron. Senior Jamie Gaither found Cameron in the box right in front of the goal, and Cameron's second goal of the season knotted the game with the Terriers at 1-1. But BU added two more goals before halftime for a commanding 3-1 lead en route to a 6-1 victory.

Petter Starnas' hat trick led Northeastern to the 5-0 win. The Huskies shut down the Seawolves' offensive attack, limiting SBU to a season-low four shots.

Scouting the Pride: Hofstra is riding a three-game winning streak, including last weekend's overtime victory over Towson that handed the Tigers their first America East loss and ended their eight-game unbeaten streak.

Luckisee Williams saved a ball off the goal line in overtime and added the gamewinning penalty kick to lead the Pride to the win.

Patrick Geraghty leads Hofstra with six goals and 10 assists. Goalkeeper Justin Varrone has seen nearly 1190 minutes of action, posting a goals-against average of 1.89 and making 45 saves (.643).

Between the Pipes: After a freshman season in which he set a new school record for shutouts and received several postseason honors, starting goalkeeper Dan Ferrin saw his sophomore campaign cut short last week. Ferrin suffered a fracture in his foot last season, an injury which has since become more aggravated according to recent X-rays.

With Ferrin sidelined for the rest of the season, backup Matt Thibdeau got his first collegiate start last weekend. The sophomore, who also saw action in the Albany contest earlier this season, made a total of 11 saves in the two games combined.

Bitten by the Injury Bug: In addition to the loss of Ferrin, the Seawolves have seen their roster become more and more depleted as injuries have taken their toll on their thin lineup.

Senior back Johan Thomsson saw just five minutes of action against BU last weekend, while forward Jude Osei Bonsu and midfielder Mike Salvador have both missed recent games with injuries.

A bad omen came in just the second game of the year, when returning leading scorer Shane Arikian went down with a dislocated foot that has kept him out of action since.

On the Home Front: The Seawolves have struggled at home this season, winning just twice. SBU's last triumph at University Field came on Sept. 26 with a 3-2 overtime win against Sacred Heart.

Since then, Stony Brook has fallen to Albany and Towson and tied with Delaware.

Struggling Offensively: The Seawolves continue to struggle offensively, scoring just seven goals in their last eight games.

Stony Brook has tallied 14 goals on the season, with seven of those coming in the first four games of the year.

Senior midfielder Jamie Gaither leads the Seawolves with three goals on the year. He and freshman Jude Osei Bonsu have each scored two gamewinners.

News and Notes: The Seawolves face Drexel in the home finale on Sunday . . . SBU then travels to Vermont and Hartford for the final conference games of the season . . . Stony Brook closes the regular season with a rescheduled game at Adelphi on Nov. 10.