March 17, 2009

Box Score

Easton, Pa. - Stony Brook scored seven first quarter goals and then made the lead stand up the rest of the way as the Seawolves downed Lafayette in a non-conference men's lacrosse game by a final of 12-9. Sophomore Jordan McBride (New Westminster, B.C.) scored five goals and handed out an assist to help Stony Brook to its fourth straight win and second in as many tries on the road. The Seawolves now stand at 4-2 this season, while Lafayette fell to 2-4 with the loss.

"It was another good win for our program, especially coming in our first mid-week road game of the season," said Stony Brook head coach Rick Sowell. "It looked like it would be an easy test for us when we were up 6-0, but you have to give Lafayette credit for coming back the way they did. But we were able to score enough goals to win and we will take it and get ready for Denver on Saturday."

It was a quick start for Stony Brook, which saw sophomore Adam Rand (Niantic, Conn.) win the opening face-off. Junior Steven Waldeck (Levittown, N.Y) scooped up the ball, took it into the offensive zone and let loose with a shot that was good for his second goal of the season and gave Stony Brook a 1-0 lead just 16 seconds in.

Stony Brook did not stop there and wound up getting the first five possessions of the game. The Seawolves scored on all five, giving them a 5-0 lead before Lafayette had even touched the ball on offense. Less than a minute after Waldeck's goal, McBride connected off an assist from junior Tom Compitello (Hauppauge, N.Y.). Freshman Robbie Campbell (Delta, B.C.) put one home a minute later and then McBride scored twice more, putting the Seawolves up 5-0 less than five minutes into the game.

After a goal from sophomore Kevin Crowley (New Westminster, B.C.) put SBU up 6-0, Lafayette struck back. The Leopards scored three goals in a two-minute span, getting two from Tom Perini, to close to 6-3. Compitello ended the Lafayette streak, putting Stony Brook back up by four with 2:34 left in the first quarter.

From there it was a game of back and forth the rest of the way. Lafayette answered Compitello's goal with two in the first five minutes of the second quarter to make it 7-5. Stony Brook went back up by four after McBride and Compitello struck for scores that were less than a minute apart midway through the second. Perini notched another for the Leopards late in the quarter, however, cutting the Stony Brook lead to 9-6 going into the half.

Early in the third another Lafayette goal cut the SBU advantage to two, but Crowley scored on an unassisted play less than three minutes later to put the Seawolves back on top by three at 10-7. With 3:55 left in the quarter Stony Brook picked up a key man-up goal when sophomore Timmy Trenkle's (Commack, N.Y.) shot off a nice pass from McBride made it 11-7.

McBride notched his final goal four and a half minutes into the fourth quarter off a Compitello assist, his third of the game, pushing the Stony Brook lead back to five at 12-7. Lafayette cut it down to a four-goal advantage with 7:02 left, but could not get any closer until there was a little more than a minute left in the contest. By then it was too little, too late for the Leopards as the Seawolves came away with the win.

Compitello finished with two goals and three assists for the Seawolves, the second straight game he has had three assists. Crowley had a pair of goals and three assists, while matching his career best with a team-high seven ground balls. Perini had four goals to lead Lafayette.

Stony Brook will stay on the road for its next game, traveling to Colorado to take on Denver on Saturday, March 21 at 3:30 Eastern.