STONY BROOK, N.Y. — After getting summoned with other student-athletes via GroupMe to an auditorium midway through her sophomore season with the LIU Post women's soccer team, Erin O'Connor learned the university intended to combine the athletic programs on its Brooklyn and Brookville campuses the following academic year.

"We were told we were merging and might not have the same coach — some girls might be cut, our scholarship money might be cut," O'Connor said.

O'Connor proceeded to complete that 2018 season with the Division II Pioneers, advancing to the third round of the NCAA Tournament before falling to eventual national champion Bridgeport.

Shortly afterward, Mark Dawson, her departing coach, informed O'Connor that Stony Brook had expressed interest in her making the leap from Division II to Division I and joining the Seawolves.

O'Connor accepted the invitation.

She went on to become a playoff hero for Stony Brook in her first season with the team last fall.

O'Connor scored both goals as top-seeded Stony Brook defeated New Hampshire, 2-1, in the America East semifinals on Nov. 7. Three days later, she scored the opening goal in a 2-1 win against Hartford as the Seawolves earned the conference title and an automatic berth to the NCAA Tournament.

"I went on a visit, and we had lunch with the girls," O'Connor recalled about the transfer decision. "All of them were so welcoming. And the facilities were great. I just had a feeling I needed to start over."

A 5-foot-9 forward, O'Connor spent her first two collegiate seasons with LIU Post. She earned second-team all-conference honors as a sophomore and tallied 10 goals and 11 assists in 39 matches (34 starts) over two seasons.

O'Connor admittedly had a slow start to last season with the Seawolves, although she was overcoming mononucleosis at the time. She ultimately tallied four goals and four assists in 20 matches (11 starts), including the huge trio of playoff goals that helped Stony Brook secure the America East title. She was named to the conference's all-championship team and named Most Outstanding Player. (Her lone regular-season goal came at West Virginia and ended up the NCAA goal of the week.)

"It was surreal," O'Connor said about her postseason impact. "I didn't really score that much during the season. I've always really loved the playoffs, even at Post. I get very nervous sometimes. But I feel like it makes me play a little better with everybody on your back and the pregame talks. It's a lot more exciting. A lot more people show up.

"I just remember that game against New Hampshire, I kept saying, 'All right, I have to score. I have to do this.' I remember after the first goal I was like, 'This is crazy.' And then, after the second goal, I was like, 'This is actually happening.' It was a great feeling to be a part of it during my first fall here."

Said coach Tobias Bischof said: "After transferring from LIU Post, Erin developed into a standout player for our program. Erin, Fanny Götesson and Rachel Florenz all played fantastic as outside forwards and were dangerous all season."

LIU Post had been among the most accomplished Division II women's soccer programs in the nation. Still, in January 2019, when O'Connor enrolled at Stony Brook — a few minutes from her family's Setauket  home — there was an adjustment period to the Division I game.

"There definitely was a mental block that I had that spring," O'Connor said. "During the spring I would trip over the ball every single practice. My best friend from high school, Ari (Arianna Barbieri), is on the team. She was like, 'Erin, relax. It's fine.' Even at the end-of-the-year meeting, Tobi was like, 'It's the same thing you always do. It's just a game.' I was in my head. I'm coming halfway through the year. It's challenging. But all of that summer I focused on mentally preparing myself — D-II versus D-I. I knew the ball would move faster. The girls are also stronger, and I'm not the biggest. My body was getting used to it."

O'Connor lived in a soccer house last academic year. The proximity to home allowed her to see her dogs, a Rottweiler named Zoe and a little Morkie named Teddy, more frequently. Her extended family also was able to see her play more frequently.

Now she enters her senior season this upcoming academic year, looking to build on her 2019 postseason success.

"During the America East championships, Erin found another gear," Bischof said.