STONY BROOK, N.Y. — Connor Grippe and Dylan Pallonetti overlapped one season on the Ward Melville High School lacrosse team, when Grippe was a senior captain and Pallonetti was only a ninth-grader.

"Even as a freshman in high school, he had a knack for getting to the goal and finishing the ball," said Grippe, now a fifth-year senior and a captain with Stony Brook men's lacrosse. "He elevates the game of everyone around him when he's on the field."

Said Pallonetti: "I just remember him always looking out for the younger guys and being a good role model."

Now, the duo has reunited.

The 5-foot-10, 185-pound Pallonetti, who spent last season redshirting at the University of Maryland, is with the Seawolves and expected to be a major contributor at attack.

Stony Brook is slated to open its season Feb. 13 against Sacred Heart at Kenneth P. LaValle Stadium.

"Obviously it's pretty cool to play lacrosse right in my back yard," Pallonetti said about transferring to Stony Brook. "I think the biggest part was the culture. What the coaching staff laid out to me, they were right on point. It's exactly what they told me, which is great. The coaching staff really stood out to me. They offered something different. I just felt it and went with it, and I'm happy to be here now."

Said Stony Brook coach Anthony Gilardi: "Dylan is an extremely talented playmaker who has really bought into our system of team offense. He works with Tom Haun, Cory VanGinhoven and Patrick Kaschalk at attack. His versatility also gives us the ability to play him above the cage."

Pallonetti's high school resume is eyepopping.

He was an Under Armour All-American and Suffolk County Player of Year as a senior in 2019 while producing 46 goals and 13 assists.

He won a pair of state championships with the Patriots, in 2017 and '18.

Ward Melville also was crowned national champion during that latter season, but the 2017 state title was particularly special for Pallonetti.

"When I was a sophomore, in the state championship game, we were down four goals with a minute and one second left in the game. And we came back to win it in overtime," Pallonetti said. "That had to be, by far, my best memory at Ward Melville."

Pallonetti started every game of his four-year prep career and departed as the fifth all-time leading scorer in Ward Melville history.

He was one of 14 lacrosse players named to Newsday's Top 100 Boys Athletes of the 2010s.

Inside Lacrosse listed him among the notable transfers for the 2021 season.

Although the campus is minutes from his childhood home, Pallonetti is living with teammates in an off-campus house.

"I've had a lot of help from the seniors and upperclassmen getting used to things," Pallonetti said. "I ask them little questions here and there, and they help me out a lot."

Said Grippe: "It's awesome to see how much he's grown as a player over these last five years. He had a great career at Ward Melville. And I'm sure he will leave a lasting impression here at Stony Brook."