WEST LONG BRANCH, N.J. – After falling behind 5-0 in the first quarter, the Stony Brook men's lacrosse team went on to outscore Monmouth, 15-7, en route to its third win in a row to improve to 2-0 in CAA play. The Seawolves were paced by senior attackman
Dylan Pallonetti who recorded seven points (six goals, one assist) and his 100
th career goal in the victory.
Pallonetti ended Monmouth's early 5-0 run when he scored back-to-back goals for the Seawolves over the final three minutes of the first quarter to make it 5-2 in favor of the Hawks after the first 15 minutes of play. From there, the Seawolves and Hawks played a back-and-forth second quarter, which saw Stony Brook outscore Monmouth, 6-3, in the frame and the teams were knotted up at 8-8 at the break.
Leading the attack in the first half was Pallonetti and senior attackman
Blake Behlen. Pallonetti finished the first half with a hat trick and an assist, while Behlen got on the board twice with a pair of goals.
Stony Brook's offense continued to click in the second half with Pallonetti at the helm of the attack. The senior scored another three goals over the final 30 minutes as he finished the game with his second six-goal performance of the season.
With the game tied up at 11-11 with 10:31 to play in the fourth quarter, Pallonetti rattled the cage for the fourth time in the game and it was the 100
th goal of his career. The crucial goal put Stony Brook up 12-11 and it never looked back as it went on to outscore Monmouth, 4-1, down the stretch as it held on to win, 15-12.
Defensively, the Seawolves stifled the Hawks as they held them to just four goals on 16 shots in the second half. Sophomore goalie
Jamison MacLachlan and senior defenseman
Michael Sabella anchored a strong effort on the defensive end for the Seawolves.
MacLachlan made nine saves in the cage, six of which came in the second half. Sabella made big plays for the Seawolves time and time again as he was blanketed all over Monmouth's top scorer Cade Stratton who scored just two goals in the game and none of which came while Sabella was guarding him man-to-man.
The three-game winning streak is the longest of the season for the Seawolves as they improved to 2-0 in conference play. It is the first time since 2018 that Stony Brook has started conference play 2-0.
STATS AND NOTES
- Pallonetti led the attack for Stony Brook with seven points (six goals, one assist). The senior scored the 100th goal of his career and extended his goal scoring streak to 37 consecutive games. It marks the second time this season that he has scored six goals in a game (also scored six goals on Feb. 24 against Air Force). In addition to his seven points, the attackman picked up four ground balls.
- Behlen recorded his third hat trick of the season and one of his goals came on the man up. The senior has scored goals in seven-straight games for the Seawolves as he tallied his 10th career hat trick.
- Graduate attackman Jonathan Huber finished the game with a season-high five points as he scored two goals and handed out a career-high tying five assists. It was his sixth multi-goal game of the season as he has scored goals in seven consecutive games.
- Senior attackman Will Button found the back of the net twice for the Seawolves. It was his fourth multi-goal game of the season and the third in his last five games.
- MacLachlan made nine saves in the cage, six of which came in the second half.
- Sabella picked up three ground balls and caused one turnover.
- Senior long stick midfielder Christian Lowd caused four turnovers and recorded three ground balls. He has caused three or more turnovers in three out of his last four games. The four caused turnovers were a season-high.
- Stony Brook is 5-0 when scoring 15 or more goals in a game.
QUOTES FROM THE SEAWOLVES
"I am proud of the team for sticking to the plan and not panicking after going down 5-0 to start the game. The bench was electric and helped us bring the juice as we chipped away at the lead. I thought Dylan was fantastic again and I am so pumped for him on getting his 100
th career goal in a big moment when we needed it. Every game in this league is a battle and we look forward to getting back to work on Monday as we prep for our first CAA home game against Towson," said head coach
Anthony Gilardi.
NEXT UP
Stony Brook returns to LaValle Stadium on Saturday, April 1, to take on Towson in its first-ever home CAA game. It marks the first time that the Seawolves and Tigers will go head-to-head since the 2012 season. Opening face-off is set for noon and the game will broadcast on FloLive.
Get your tickets now to be part of the action!
For an inside look at the Seawolves men's lacrosse program, be sure to follow them on
Facebook,
Twitter, and
Instagram.
