Aug. 28, 2014

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New Britain, Conn. - The #Seawolves are hoping to parlay a successful preseason into the regular season when they open the 2014 campaign at Central Connecticut Friday, Aug. 29 at 7 pm. Stony Brook looked dangerous going forward in its two preseason games agains LaSalle and Fordham scoring four goals over the 180 minutes of action. The balanced attack, which saw four different players score the four goals, is a positive sign for the team going forward. After a disappointing 6-10-1 season a year ago, the team is hungry to get back to its typical winning ways.

Preseason Outlook

Stony Brook returns eight starters from last year’s squad including all four members of its back line. The team also returns 13 of the 17 goals accounted for last year. Head coach Ryan Anatol is also thrilled with the performance of his new guys in the preseason and expects heavy contributions in many different spots from his first year players. Stony Brook was picked to finish fourth in the America East preseason coaches’ poll as voted on by the nine coaches in the league.

Scouting CCSU

Friday’s home opener figures to be a stern test. Central Connecticut was picked to finish first in the NEC preseason poll after winning the conference regular season a year ago with a 6-0-1 record in conference play. The Blue Devils return four All-NEC selections from a year ago and two of their top three point scorers from last season in juniors Zach Zurita and Freddy Metellus. Zurita lead the team in goals (6), assists (5), and points (17). He had one game-winning goal in his first season with the Blue Devils and was named to the NEC All-Conference second team. Metellus finished with six points last season tallying two goals and two assists.

Last Meeting

The Blue Devils got the best of Stony Brook last year defeating the Seawolves 2-0 at LaValle Stadium. Not much separated the two sides as final shots were 16-14 in favor of Stony Brook but 7-3 for shots on goal to the Blue Devils. The all-time series has been dead even between the schools with both holding a 1-1-2 all-time record against each other.

Seawolves to Watch

Junior Martin Giordano (Weston, Fla.) has established himself as one of the top playmakers for the club in his first two seasons. Last year, the midfielder was selected to the America East second team after finishing tied for second in the conference with six assists. Senior Keith McKenna (Great River, N.Y.) is Stony Brook’s top returning goalscorer after depositing four goals in 2013. Junior Alejandro Fritz (Budapest, Hungary) is another dangerous player in attack. In his first two seasons, he has compiled eight career goals, five of which came as a freshman. Sophomores Tavares Thompson (Kingston, Jamaica) and Jorge Torres (Miami, Fla.) are two other players to keep an eye on. Both were named to the America East All-Rookie team last season.