Sept. 25, 2001

The Matchup: Stony Brook (2-0-1) finally returns to action on Wednesday after a two-week layoff. Due to the terrorist attacks two weeks ago, the Seawolves postponed games against Manhattan and Adelphi. Sacred Heart (2-4-0, 1-1 Northeast Conference) comes off a 3-1 victory over UMBC on Saturday.

Series History: Stony Brook leads the all-time series 4-2-1 and has won the last three meetings, including last year's 2-0 victory in Fairfield, Conn.

In the Seawolves' third straight shutout to open the 2000 season, Everett Watts opened the scoring in the 12th minute, taking a pass from back Kenyatta Montgomery and heading it into the upper right corner of the net past Pioneer keeper Gustavo Reaes.

The Seawolves tallied again on a man-up opportunity after Pioneer Jorge DeSousa was ejected for unsportsmanlike conduct in the 80th minute. At the 83:29 mark, midfielder Jamie Gaither scored his third goal of the year to seal the win.

Last Time Out: The Seawolves last played on Sept. 12 when they won their first contest on the road, defeating Binghamton 1-0. Jamie Gaither scored his second gamewinner of the season on an assist from Jude Osei Bonsu to lead Stony Brook to the win.

After 20 scoreless minutes, Gaither fired a hard shot from the left corner of the box that found the upper right corner of the net. Goalkeeper Dan Ferrin and the Seawolves defense made Gaither's goal stand up, as the Bearcats got off just two shots that threatened to even the score. One caromed off the crossbar and another, with just a minute remaining in the game, Ferrin grabbed to preserve the win for Stony Brook.

Scouting the Pioneers: Sacred Heart is 2-4 overall, led by junior forward Franco Cartiera's five goals and four assists. Senior back James Schmidt has tallied twice for the Pioneers in six games.

Senior Gustavo Reaes has started four games between the pipes, recording a goals-against average of 3.08 and making 18 saves in 351:00. Sophomore Anthony Lombardo has started two games and seen action in three. His GAA is 2.28 in nearly 200 minutes of action.

Go-to Gaither: Senior midfielder/forward Jamie Gaither has proven to be the go-to guy so far this season, providing both gamewinners in Stony Brook's two victories. A Shane Arikian cross led to Gaither's goal against NYIT in the season opener, while freshman Jude Osei Bonsu provided the assist against Binghamton. That gives Gaither three gamewinners during his two-year career at Stony Brook.

Gaither got off to a good start last season as well, scoring in the 2000 opener as Stony Brook defeated Boston College 1-0. He was the team's third-leading scorer with four goals to go along with two assists.

This season, he leads Stony Brook with five points in three games.

Stacking up in the America East: Although no teams in the America East have begun conference play, the Seawolves are the only conference team that remains undefeated at 2-0-1.

In individual statistics, goalkeeper Dan Ferrin leads the America East with a GAA of 0.60 and a save percentage of .846. Jamie Gaither is fifth in goals per game (0.67) and sixth in scoring (1.67 ppg).

Slow Start: The Seawolves have struggled to get into any sort of flow as two of their first five games were postponed due to the national tragedy that occurred on Sept. 11. Stony Brook's match with Adelphi has been postponed twice, the Seawolves had rescheduled for last week but poor field conditions at Adelphi and an unfavorable weather forecast prevented the teams from playing.

With just three games played in nearly a month, Stony Brook has played the fewest number of games by this date since the 1981 season, when SBU had played just twice before Sept. 26.