Sept. 27, 2002
The Matchup: The Seawolves (0-7-1) open America East play at Vermont in the conference opener for both teams. Stony Brook comes off a tie against Sacred Heart in its third overtime game of the year, while Vermont fell to Elon in the Catamounts' last outing.
Series History: The two teams have met only once, with Vermont defeating the Seawolves 1-0 in America East action last season. In that matchup, Catamount Jamie Farrell's goal with 41 seconds left gave Vermont a 1-0 win over Stony Brook. Vermont's Matt Chavez began the play at midfield when he gathered a Stony Brook turnover and fed Farrell on the run. Farrell ran past a defender and fired a low drive from 18 yards that beat Seawolves keeper Dan Ferrin. The Seawolves were playing a man down for the final 26 minutes after back Randy Cyrus received a second yellow card. It was Ferrin who kept Stony Brook alive throughout the game and equalled a then-career-high with 10 saves. His best was in the first half when he dove to stop Jason Allen's penalty kick in the 39th minute. On the ensuing rebound, UVM's Adam Wallace drilled the ball off the crossbar and another point blank shot by the Cats went wide. Vermont held Stony Brook to just seven shots on the afternoon with six coming in the first half.
Scouting the Catamounts: Vermont dropped a pair of games last weekend at the Dayton Marriott Flyer Classic to even their record at 4-4-0. Vermont dropped a 2-0 decision to A-10 Dayton in Friday's action. After spotting Elon a 1-0 lead in Sunday's game, UVM roared back to take a 2-1 lead behind a pair of second-half goals. But with 12 minutes to play, the Phoenix scored twice to earn the victory. Vermont's loss was the first this season in which they had scored a goal. It also was just the second time in eight games they tallied more than once.
Last Time Out: Stony Brook had its chances against Sacred Heart on Wednesday, but the Seawolves settled for a 1-1 tie. After a scoreless first half, Stony Brook took a 1-0 lead in the 48th minute on a Sacred Heart own goal. A Sacred Heart clearing attempt went off Pioneer defender Stan Zazula and into the net. The Pioneers (0-5-1) came up with the equalizer in the 68th minute. A throw-in by senior Matt Christiansen found senior Jorge DeSousa in the box, and DeSousa's header sliced past Stony Brook goalkeeper Dan Ferrin to even the game at 1-1. The Seawolves came up short despite several scoring opportunities throughout regulation. Junior forward Shane Arikian saw one of his attempts bang off the post and another ricochet off the crossbar, and senior forward Kevin Cameron also had some excellent looks at the goal. But Sacred Heart goalkeeper Chris Marchese came up with some big saves to hold off the Seawolves, sending the game into overtime. It looked as if Stony Brook would seize the victory in the second overtime. In the 103rd minute, a flurry in front of the goal led to an excellent opportunity for freshman forward Payton Webb. Webb collected a rebound and got off a point-blank shot, but Sacred Heart defender Cullen Mezerewski headed the ball out of bounds to deny the Seawolves. Stony Brook had the edge in both shots and corner kicks, outshooting the Pioneers 25-11 and totaling nine corners to Sacred Heart's seven. Marchese finished with 10 saves while Ferrin collected six.
Unlucky In Overtime: So far this year, Stony Brook hasn't had any luck in overtime games. The Seawolves lost two of their three home games to this point in extra periods, and then were denied a victory at Sacred Heart on Wednesday. In the three seasons before this fall, Stony Brook had not lost in 10 overtime games, a streak that began in 1999 and ended with this year's home opening loss to Holy Cross.
One More Time: Stony Brook will play its next home game at Seawolves Stadium, the last time the Seawolves will play in the stadium this season. Stony Brook plays host to Marist on Wednesday, Sept. 2, at 7 p.m.
