Feb. 23, 2004

Stony Brook, N.Y. - The Stony Brook men's lacrosse team opens the 2004 season on Saturday when it travels to Delaware. SB begins its third season as a member of the America East and the February 28 start is one of the earliest starts to a season in the program's history. Face-off is 1 p.m.

Game 1: Stony Brook (0-0) at Delaware (2-0)
Where: Newark, Del. - Rullo Stadium
Series: Tied 1-1
Season Openers: SB is 5-15
Face-off: 1 p.m.

For Starters: Should the Seawolves knock off Delaware to start the season, it will mark the first time they have began the season 1-0 since 1997.

The Espey Files: Head coach John Espey enters his 17th season with Stony Brook this spring. The veteran head coach has compiled a 107-117 record during his tenure at SB while guiding the Brook to its first conference title in 2002. Espey has the second longest running tenure of any coach at Stony Brook. He is second only to head football coach Sam Kornhauser who has been at the Brook for 20 seasons.

Capping It Off: Last year, then freshman Jason Cappadoro turned in a record-setting performance. The rookie set a new single-season school record for freshman in totaling 43 points on the season (26g, 17a) to lead the team in scoring. He turned in eight multiple-goal games and notched a hat trick on five occasions. At season's end, Cappadoro earned first-team all-conference honors and also pulled down all-rookie recognition. Cappadoro's 43 points surpassed the previous single-season record of 42 set by Steve Conlon in 2002.

By George He's Got It: Senior George LaFlare enters his final season in a Seawolf uniform following a career-best effort in 2003. LaFlare finished with career-highs in both goals (17) and assists (17) for 34 points, second-best on the team. Prior to last season, LaFlare's career-best point total was 19 that he set during his sophomore season. His outstanding 2003 season earned him first-team all-conference honors.

A Ground Attack: Junior defenseman Kyle Pearl is one of the best ground ball men in the nation. Last year, as primarily a close defenseman, Pearl scooped up a school record 106 ground balls in 15 games. His 7.07 ground balls per game ranked third in the country. His knack for getting to the loose ball and solid defensive play helped him garner all-conference recognition last spring.

On The Marksberry: Sophomore Adam Marksberry returns after an impressive freshman season that saw him total 15 goals and five assists. The former standout at Comsewogue High School finished fourth on the team in scoring and earned conference all-rookie honors last season.

A First Time For Everything: This 2004 schedule will feature the first meeting between the two Division I lacrosse teams on Long Island. On April 27, Stony Brook will face Hofstra for the first time in its history.

He Ain't Heavy, He's My Brother: Senior Aaron Weiss will welcome his younger brother David Weiss to the Stony Brook lacrosse program this spring. David was a standout defenseman for Nassau Community College before enrolling at Stony Brook in January.

Happy Anniversary: The 2004 season will be the 15th season of Division I lacrosse at Stony Brook. The program's first season at the Division I level was 1990 when the then Patriots posted a 12-2 record with its first D-I win coming in a 15-5 triumph over Holy Cross. That win was the first in what became a 12-game winning streak, the longest in the school's Division I history.

Early Bird Gets The Worm: The 2004 season begins on February 28 when the Seawolves head to Newark, Del. to take on the Blue Hens. It is the third earliest start to the season in the program's history, the earliest taking place on February 26, 2000 when SB opened up against Bucknell at Hofstra.