Sept. 4, 2001
The Matchup: Stony Brook (1-0) hopes to win its second straight home contest as the Seawolves square off against Rider (0-2).
Series History: Today's meeting is the first between the two schools.
Last Time Out:Jamie Gaither scored the gamewinner and assisted on the equalizer to lead the Seawolves to a 2-1 comeback win over New York Institute of Technology last Friday.
The Bears (0-1) got on the board first at the 14:23 mark, but the lead was short-lived. The Seawolves needed just 30 seconds to counter and knot the game at 1-1, when Gaither found Shane Arikian on the right side. Arikian's shot sailed past Bears goalkeeper Matt Burke to even the score.
Just under four minutes later, Gaither added a goal of his own. Burke got a hand on Gaither's initial shot, but Gaither collected the rebound to score the gamewinner. NYIT had their chances in the second half with five corner kicks and four shots, but aggressive play by SBU keeper Dan Ferrin kept the Bears at bay.
Scouting the Broncs: Rider opened its season last weekend by hosting the Bronc Fall Classic. Rider fell in the first round to Philadelphia in overtime, 1-0, and then lost to St. Joseph's 2-1.
Philadelphia's Andy Zayas scored in the 108th minute to hand Rider its first loss of the season. PU outshot the Broncs 18-15 but Rider keeper Brian Gill made five saves to keep the Broncs in the game.
Rider posted a 1-0 lead over St. Joseph's on a first-half goal by Bob Francis but the Hawks scored twice in a span of 19 seconds to take a 2-1 lead with 33 minutes left to play. That lead would stand as Rider suffered its second defeat.
(Number) Eight is Enough: Jamie Gaither scored the gamewinner in Stony Brook's season-opening win for the second straight year witih his goal against NYIT last week.
Last year, Gaither's goal lifted the Seawolves to a 1-0 win over BC in their first game. Gaither has tallied five goals and two assists (12 points) during his two-year career.
The win over NYIT also marked the first time Stony Brook has won back-to-back season openers since the 1983 and 1984 seasons.
On the Road Again: After today's match with Rider, the Seawolves welcome a six-day lay-off before battling three teams in six days, including two on the road. Stony Brook faces its first road game of 2001 at Binghamton next Tuesday, Sept. 11, then returns home to face Manhattan on Thursday .
The Seawolves travel to face crosstown rival Adelphi on Saturday, Sept. 15, in Garden City, N.Y.
Off to a Good Start: Two freshmen began their careers at Stony Brook as starters--midfielder Akil Jordan and defender George Cobourne. Meanwhile, sophomore David Mittan got his first career start in the back. Mittan started 16 games last season in the midfield.
Junior midfielder Bryan Baracaldo also got the starting nod--the first start he has seen since 1999, when he started in 12 contests.
News and Notes: The Seawolves' two goals against NYIT marked the first time they had scored in their last three contests, dating back to last season . . . SBU ended 2000 with back-to-back shutout losses at Columbia and Hartwick.
