STONY BROOK, N.Y. — Rivalry games often prove to be tight contests. And that certainly was the case on Thursday evening.

Still, the sixth-ranked Stony Brook women's lacrosse team held off Hofstra at Kenneth P. LaValle Stadium in the latest edition of the Battle of Long Island.

With Hofstra keying on Tewaaraton Award candidates Ally Kennedy and Taryn Ohlmiller, Kailyn Hart and Bridget Considine each stepped up and had career-high goal outputs. And goalie Kameron Halsall made a dozen saves as the Seawolves topped the Pride, 12-8.

The three goals from Considine, a redshirt junior attacker from Rockville Centre, topped her previous scoring best, which came in a trio of two-goal games. Her father John is an equipment manager for Hofstra.

Hart, a sophomore from North Babylon, matched her career high with four goals. She also achieved that total last season against Ohio State.

Coach Joe Spallina said he recently challenged Hart.

"Probably three or four games ago her and I had a little sitdown, a little intervention," Spallina said. "This was a great night for her. But she's been doing this every game now. When we've got her going like that, it takes a little pressure off. They made it really hard to get Taryn Ohlmiller the ball. And we dared some of our younger players to make plays. And Hart was one of them."

Considine scored back-to-back goals to open the game. And when Hart followed with a goal with 19:41 remaining in the first half, Stony Brook led 3-0.

Hart's third goal, which came with 7:58 remaining in the half, opened a 7-1 lead.

Hofstra answered with four straight goals spanning the two halves, but Considine halted that run with her final score to make it 8-5.

The Seawolves maintained at least a two-goal advantage the rest of the way.

Afterward, Spallina raved about Halsall's performance.

"This was the best performance she's had since she's been here," Spallina said. "She stole the show. Even the ones that were beating her, they would hit her body and roll in. She wasn't getting beat clean."

As for Considine, Spallina added: "She's a matchup nightmare when she's dodging with confidence."

Hofstra won 14 of 22 draw controls.

The Seawolves won four of six games against nonconference opponents — their only losses coming at No. 1 North Carolina and No. 2 Syracuse.

Stony Brook (7-2, 3-0 AE) steps back into America East play on Sunday at Hartford.

"It's certainly not a finished product by any means, but right now we're stacking W's," Spallina said. "That's what the great teams do. You have to keep winning. We know we're going to get everybody's best effort every night. We've got to be ready to answer the bell."