Sept. 27, 2001

The Matchup: Stony Brook (3-0-1) plays its last game before beginning America East Conference play as the Seawolves travel to Oneonta, N.Y., to face Hartwick on Friday, Sept. 28. On Wednesday, the Seawolves rallied to beat Sacred Heart 3-2 in overtime In their first game after a two-week layoff. The Hawks (4-3, 0-1 Atlantic Soccer Conference) are coming off a 1-0 loss to Navy on Sunday.

Series History: The two teams met for the first time last year in the season finale, with Hartwick handing the Seawolves a 2-0 loss.

Hartwick's Rob Catana scored the only goal of the game to lead the Hawks to a 1-0 victory in 23rd-ranked Stony Brook's last game.

The two teams battled evenly in the first half as each got off only two shots. The second half, however, was an entirely different story. The Hawks had seven shots on goal, while the Seawolves managed only one. Hartwick's pressure paid off in the 57th minute, when Catana found himself wide open on the left side. After receiving the cross from Percy Avetrani, he one-timed the ball into the lower left corner to give the Hawks the advantage.

The Seawolves were unable to counter despite a late rally, and Hartwick posted its fifth straight victory to conclude its season.

Hartwick held the Seawolves to only five shots, Stony Brook's lowest total of the season. Goalkeeper Dan Ferrin made six saves, while the Hawks' Randall Moate had four. With the win, Hartwick moved to second place in the Atlantic Soccer Conference, while the Seawolves' 5-2-1 record dropped them to third.

The Seawolves concluded their season at with a 12-4-2 overall record, the most wins ever in Stony Brook men's soccer history.

Last Time Out: After falling behind early against Sacred Heart on Wednesday, the Seawolves rallied to defeat the Pioneers, 3-2, in overtime.

The Pioneers (2-5) needed just 2:56 to take a quick 1-0 lead over the rusty Seawolves, who had not played since a Sept. 12 date with Binghamton. Igor Gupskiy took a feed from Franco Cartiera and beat Stony Brook goalkeeper Dan Ferrin one-on-one, and the Seawolves trailed for the first time since their season opener.

It took SBU over 50 minutes to counter, but the Seawolves tallied two goals in a span of just 2:35 to go ahead 2-1. In the 55th minute, freshman back Michael Salvador, playing just his second game in a Stony Brook uniform, netted an indirect kick from 15 yards out to even the score. After SHU goalkeeper Anthony Lombardo took down Jamie Gaither in the box in the 58th minute, Gaither took a penalty kick that gave the Seawolves their first lead.

But the Pioneers fought back. In the 75th minute, Cartiera took a shot that was stopped by Ferrin. However, Jorge DeSousa was there to settle the rebound and score, tying the game and sending SBU to its second overtime contest in just four games this season. Less than three minutes into the extra period, freshman midfielder Jude Osei Bonsu scored his first career goal with a header that sailed into the upper right corner past backup goalkeeper Gustavo Reaes to preserve Stony Brook's unbeaten record.

Scouting the Hawks: Hartwick has lost their last three games after opening the season with four straight wins. The Hawks shut out three of their first four opponents, but their win streak came to an end with a 2-1 overtime loss to Philadelphia on Sept. 16. Army handed HC another 2-1 loss last Friday, and Navy shut out the Hawks 1-0 on Sunday.

Junior midfielder Jonathan Westmaas leads Hartwick with three goals and five assists. Sophomore forward Rob Catana has also tallied three times for the Hawks. As a team, HC has recorded twice as many shots and corner kicks as its opponents. The Hawks have scored 14 goals while giving up only six.

Adam Parsells has seen most of the action in the goal, recording a goals-against average of 1.18 in 457:00. Randall Moate has not given up a goal in his 190:00 and has three of Hartwick's four wins to his credit.

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 on Wednesday. The win kept Stony Brook's unbeaten streak alive and 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 two weeks ago.

Osei Bonsu has a total of three points, the second-most on the team behind Gaither's seven.

Staying Balanced After senior Jamie Gaither's team-leading three goals and seven points, the Seawolves boast a balanced scoring attack with four other players getting in on the action. Jude Osei Bonsu, Shane Arikian and Mike Salvador have each scored one goal so far this season.

The balanced offense is reminiscent of last season, when 15 Seawolves got into the scoring column, 11 of them tallying goals. Arikian led the way with seven goals and 20 points, while Everett Watts had five goals and 13 points.

Winning in Overtime: Stony Brook has already played two overtime games this season, earning a tie and a win. The Seawolves have not lost a game in their last seven ovetime contests, recording three victories and four ties. Last season, Stony Brook was 1-0-2 in overtime matches.

The last time SBU lost an overtime game was during the 1999 season, when Oneonta handed the Seawolves a 2-1 setback.

Playing with Consistency: Leading scorer Jamie Gaither has proven time and again that he comes through with the game on the line. The senior has scored in three of SBU's four games, including gamewinners against NYIT and Binghamton.

Gaither's penalty kick against Sacred Heart on Wednesday gave Stony Brook a 2-1 edge in the 58th minute, but the Pioneers came back to tie the game and force overtime, setting the stage for Jude Osei Bonsu's gamewinning header.

During his two-year career, Gaither has scored seven goals and three assists.

News and Notes: Back Kenyatta Montgomery returned to the team last week and got his first start of the season against Sacred Heart . . . in NCAA national stats released Tuesday, goalkeeper Dan Ferrin was ranked 20th in the country in GAA . . . Ferrin has a save percentage of .789 in nearly 393 minutes . . . the Seawolves begin their 11-game America East slate Tuesday against Albany . . . after Friday's game against Hartwick, the Seawolves will face one more non-conference opponent, Adelphi, in a match that has been rescheduled for Oct. 23 . . . Stony Brook plays three conference games next week, facing Albany at home on Tuesday, then traveling to play New Hampshire on Friday and Maine on Sunday.