WEST LONG BRANCH, N.J. - Stony Brook women's soccer battled through being down a player for the final 15 minutes, defending its one-goal lead and holding off Monmouth to earn a return trip to the conference championship game. With Elon emerging victorious over top-seeded UNC Wilmington, the Seawolves also earned the right to host the CAA Championship at LaValle Stadium. Hannah Maracina's 23rd-minute goal represented the lone score of the contest.

HOW IT HAPPENED
Stony Brook started fast on Sunday afternoon, striking in the 23rd minute of the match when Reilly Rich directed a pass towards Maracina that the senior redirected into the back of the net with her left foot. It all started from the corner on that Sammy Hannwacker fed in towards the front post, eventually finding Rich, Maracina and the back of the net.

Maracina had another chance just minutes later, but was turned away by a great save by Monmouth's Alex Scott this time.

After being granted the one-goal advantage, Stony Brook's Jona Hennings did all she could to keep Monmouth off the board. She turned away all four of the Hawks' chances at goal following the Seawolves' icebreaker.

Rich opened the second half with a great chance for another Stony Brook goal, but her shot from distance was pushed wide by Scott, who again was up to task on a solid Seawolves' offensive opportunity.

Hennings made two more saves in the second half, keeping Stony Brook's shutout alive through 65-plus minutes of postseason action in New Jersey. The biggest threat to the Seawolves' one-goal lead came in the 75th minute of play when Eva Sprewell was issued a second yellow card and Stony Brook was forced to play down a player.

Despite the disadvantage in numbers, Stony Brook kept things moving forward, trying four shots over the next three minutes of play. Defensively, Stony Brook limited Monmouth to just three shots, none of which were on goal, over the final 15 minutes, surviving and advancing to the 2025 CAA Championship Game.
STATS AND NOTES

• Maracina's goal represented the game-winning tally in the match. It was her sixth of the season, a new career-best. It also represented her second game-winning goal of the season and the fourth of her career.
• Stony Brook earned the right to play in the conference championship game for the second straight season.
• The shutout was Stony Brook's fourth of the season.
• Hennings notched her third solo shutout of the season and earned her 12th win of the season.
• Stony Brook played the final 15:31 of the contest with 10 players.

UP NEXT
Stony Brook will host No. 3 seed Elon, who defeated top-seeded UNC Wilmington, on Sunday, November 9. First touch is scheduled for 1 pm next Sunday.

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