NEWARK, Del. – The Stony Brook men's lacrosse team's historic season has come to an end as the Seawolves were topped by Delaware, 13-10, in the 2023 CAA Championship game on Saturday afternoon. It marked Stony Brook's first-ever CAA Championship game appearance and its first appearance in a conference title game since 2015.
The Seawolves put forth a valiant effort but were narrowly edged by the Blue Hens for the second time this season. Delaware jumped out to an early 3-0 lead in the first quarter before senior attackman
Blake Behlen scored a man-up goal to get Stony Brook on the board with 7:24 to play in the frame.
Stony Brook added another tally in the first when senior attackman
Dylan Pallonetti fired a shot into the back of the net from nearly 15 yards out. The goal was Pallonetti's first of four on the afternoon. Delaware closed out the first quarter with a 5-2 advantage after it tacked on a pair of goals by Tye Kurtz and JP Ward.
The Seawolves chipped away at the deficit in the second quarter and would end up outscoring the Blue Hens, 3-2, in the frame and trailed, 7-5, heading into the halftime break. Junior midfielder
Noah Armitage, graduate midfielder
Matt Anderson, and Pallonetti all found the back of the net in the second for Stony Brook.
Sophomore goalie
Jamison MacLachlan was a force in the cage for the Seawolves all game long. The sophomore made nine of his 14 saves in the first half as he continued his dominance in goal for the Seawolves.
Delaware pulled away in the third quarter as it outscored the Seawolves, 3-1, in the quarter to take a 10-6 lead into the fourth. The Blue Hens opened the fourth quarter by scoring a pair of goals over the first five minutes to go up 12-6.
Stony Brook went on to score four out of the last five goals as its come-from-behind effort fell just short. Pallonetti and senior FOGO
Renz Conlon provided a boost of energy for the Seawolves down the stretch. Pallonetti scored two goals over the final 9:53 of the game and Conlon dominated the X and scored a goal of his own in the fourth quarter.
The Seawolves got within three goals of the Blue Hens and ultimately fell by the final score of 13-10.
A trio of Seawolves were named to the CAA All-Championship Team for their standout play in the tournament. Pallonetti, MacLachlan, and senior defenseman
Michael Sabella were all honored on the CAA All-Championship Team.
STATS AND NOTES
- Pallonetti led the Seawolves with five points as he scored four goals and dished out an assist. It was his 15th multi-goal game, 15th multi-point game, and 10th hat trick of the season. He finished the season with 51 goals and 70 points. His 51 goals are tied with Hall of Famer Kevin Crowley for the second-most in a single-season in program history. His 70 points are the sixth-most in a single-season in program history.
- MacLachlan made 14 saves in net for the Seawolves. He has made over 10 saves in 10 games this season and has done so in each of his past five contests.
- Conlon returned to the field today and was dominant at the X. The senior won 17-of-20 face-offs, picked up a game-high 10 ground balls, and scored a goal. His 17 face-off wins were a season best.
- Behlen tallied four points, two goals, and two assists. It was his 14th multi-point game of the season and seventh multi-assist game.
- Anderson registered a goal and an assist. It was also his 14th multi-point game of the season.
- On defense, Sabella picked up four ground balls. Sean Conk and Dan Newton each caused a pair of turnovers.
QUOTES FROM THE SEAWOLVES
"We have great kids, we have a great culture, we have guys that have bought in. For us, the expectation is to compete and try to win the league every year. That's where we set the bar when we took over four years ago – coach Brazel and Coach Chanenchuk have been by my side the entire time and I can't thank them enough. There is a process to success and getting here in year one is one thing, now we have to figure out what to do to get over that hump to win it and that's the motivation," said head coach
Anthony Gilardi.
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