STONY BROOK, N.Y. - The Stony Brook University men's lacrosse team fell to No. 14 Rutgers, 16-12, on Saturday afternoon at LaValle Stadium. Six different Seawolves registered multi-point games, but Stony Brook's late comeback effort fell short in the 2024 home opener.
HOW IT HAPPENED
The Scarlet Knights exploded out of the gates, scoring seven of the game's first eight goals. Noah Armitage was responsible for the first two Stony Brook goals, the first coming on a man-up opportunity, but despite his efforts the Seawolves found themselves in an early seven-goal hole.
Freshman Justin Bonacci tallied a pair of goals to end the first half, trimming Stony Brook's deficit to five heading into the halftime break. Tommy Wilk entered the contest with just under 10 minutes to play in the half, immediately making his presence felt and swinging the momentum back into Stony Brook's favor. He made four saves in the final eight minutes of the half, conceding just one goal.
Jack Dougherty opened the second-half scoring off an assist from
Nick Dupuis, but Rutgers responded with four of the next five tallies to build its lead back to seven, 13-6, with just over six minutes to play in the third frame. What ensued was a furious comeback effort from the Seawolves; the squad scored six of the game's next seven goals, conceding the lone goal against on a man-down opportunity. Dupuis scored back-to-back goals and Dougherty's man-up goal with 8:28 left to play whittled the Seawolves deficit to two goals, 14-12.
Rutgers locked in defensively from that point on, holding Stony Brook scoreless over the final eight-plus minutes and putting the game away with a pair of goals down the stretch.
STATS AND NOTES
- Dupuis finished with a team-high five points (two goals, three assists), adding a pair of ground balls. His 13 points and eight assists through two contests are tops on the squad.
- Armitage and Bonacci registered hat tricks, leading the way with three goals apiece. The hat trick was the seventh of Armitage's career and the first of Bonacci's.
- Armitage extended his goal-scoring streak to nine straight games and extended his team-leading point streak to 20 consecutive contests.
- Blake Behlen (three assists) and Dylan Pallonetti finished with three points each. Behlen has tallied an assist in nine straight outings.
- Dougherty scored a pair of goals, registering his second consecutive multi-goal game to start his season.
- Tommy Wilk entered mid-way through the second quarter, finishing the game in the cage for the Seawolves. The sophomore made 12 saves in his collegiate debut, conceding eight goals in nearly 40 minutes of action in net.
- Robbie Smith won a team-high 11 face-offs, picked up five ground balls and contributed an assist offensively as well.
- Will Button tallied an assist in his season debut, extending his point streak to 10 straight games.
- Riley Hegarty dished out an assist, the second of his career.
- Stony Brook falls to 6-9 all-time against Rutgers and 2-5 at home against the Scarlet Knights.
QUOTES FROM THE SEAWOLVES
"I think it was a tale of being disciplined and consistent," head coach Anthony Gilardi noted. "The first half got away from us in the cage and I thought Tommy Wilk did a great job coming in and settling us down."
UP NEXT
Stony Brook returns to action on Saturday, Feb. 17 at home against nationally-ranked Penn State. The Seawolves and Nittany Lions face-off at noon at LaValle Stadium with the contest streaming live on Lacrosse TV.
For an inside look at the Seawolves men's lacrosse program, be sure to follow them on Facebook,
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