STONY BROOK, N.Y. — Taryn Ohlmiller originally committed to Towson before changing her mind and staying home on Long Island, a decision prompted by observing her sister Kylie's success at Stony Brook.
In her final NCAA Tournament with the Stony Brook women's lacrosse team, Ohlmiller made her presence felt against the student-athletes who nearly were her teammates.
Ohlmiller produced seven points, tied for the second-most in an NCAA Tournament game in Stony Brook history, and the Seawolves defeated Towson, 14-8, in the first round of the NCAA Tournament on Friday at Kenneth P. LaValle Stadium.
The eighth-seeded Seawolves will host Rutgers on Sunday at noon. The Scarlet Knights ousted Drexel.
PURCHASE TICKETS FOR SUNDAY'S STONY BROOK-RUTGERS SECOND-ROUND GAME HERE.
In a defensive-minded game against Towson, Stony Brook held the Tigers scoreless for 19 minutes, 26 seconds spanning the two halves while opening a 9-2 lead with six straight goals.
Ohlmiller led the Seawolves with a four goals and three assists, while
Kaeli Huff and
Ally Kennedy each had hat tricks.
Ohlmiller's seven points matched a feat performed by her sister Kylie twice as well as Dorrien Van Dyke in 2017 for the second-most in program history.
Courtney Murphy's nine points against Penn in 2018 remain Stony Brook's NCAA tourney record.
Kylie Ohlmiller was on hand Friday providing color commentary on the ESPN3 game stream.
"We're so close to home," said
Taryn Ohlmiller, an Islip native. "Having our family in the stands, and everything like that, is awesome."
Said
Rayna Sabella: "She wanted to take over the game, and she did."
Kameron Halsall made seven saves.
Afterward, head coach
Joe Spallina noted how much Stony Brook had improved since a 10-8 win at Towson on March 7, when Spallina suggested the team was still in a "COVID fog" from trying to reset after so much time without college games.
Spallina also spent time postgame expressing disappointment with the Tewaaraton Award committee. Kennedy, a nominee, was omitted from the list of five finalists announced earlier Friday.
Spallina indicated his grievance was not so much with Kennedy's omission as the timing of the announcement — on the day of NCAA Tournament opening games.
As for Towson, it played without its top player, midfielder Blaire Pearre.
Spallina had spotted Pearre get injured late in a CAA playoff game, but did not tell his team. He reasoned that it might prompt the Seawolves to let their guard down, similarly to how Syracuse lacking Emily Hawryschuk in the season opener against Stony Brook early in the season may have done so.
"It's great to win an NCAA Tournament game. They're not easy to win, especially against a team we had played already," Spallina said. "Towson has a lot of the same characteristics as us. We know every time we play these guys it's a battle."
