RIVERDALE, N.Y. — Stony Brook men's lacrosse defeated Manhattan, 12-7, on Saturday afternoon to pick up its second straight win. Freshman
Brendan Marino scored four goals and
Justin Bonacci tallied a career-high seven points (three goals, four assists) in the road victory over the Jaspers.
HOW IT HAPPENED
- Stony Brook started fast on the strength of its freshmen class. Caleb Yeung broke the ice and Marino added a pair to put the Seawolves ahead 3-0. Bonacci assisted on all three of Stony Brook's goals to begin the afternoon.
- After a pair of tallies from Manhattan in response, Richie DeChiaro and Marino found the back of the net to push the lead back to three goals.
- After completing a first-half hat trick, Marino netted a fourth goal, but it would be Stony Brook's lone tally of the second quarter.
- The Jaspers scored twice to make it a one-goal game heading into the half and found the equalizing goal to open the scoring in the second half.
- With the score level at 6-all, Stony Brook's defense locked Manhattan down. MacLachlan and his defensive unit shut out the Jaspers in the third and Stony Brook scored thrice in the frame to go ahead 9-6.
- Bonacci added two goals to start the fourth, completing his own hat trick and capping a stretch of five straight Seawolf scores.
- Manhattan managed just one goal in the second half and Stony Brook pulled away to close out the 12-7 road victory in the Bronx.
STATS AND NOTES
- Bonacci's seven points were a career-best mark and were the most by a Seawolf since Nick Dupuis tallied nine last season against Providence. The hat trick was Bonacci's fourth of his career and his first this season.
- Marino netted four goals, the most individually by a Seawolf this year and the most in a single game since Dylan Pallonetti's five goals last April against Drexel.
- Stony Brook's defense surrendered just one goal in the second half. MacLachlan made seven of his 13 saves across the final 30 minutes of action.
- Stony Brook won the face-off battle for the fourth time this season, improving to 4-0 in all four of those games. Chris Esposito accounted for eight of Stony Brook's 14 wins at the X. Robbie Smith added five and Shea Hogan was successful in his lone attempt.
- Carson Boyle, Kian McCoy, Tanner Williams and Caleb Yeung all notched multiple points in a balanced scoring effort by Stony Brook.
QUOTES FROM THE SEAWOLVES
"Proud of the guys on earning a tough, gritty win on the road. I thought we played great team lacrosse. I'm excited to keep seeing these guys work hard and improve," head coach Anthony Gilardi said postgame.
UP NEXT
Stony Brook returns to Long Island to host Binghamton on Saturday, March 8. The Seawolves and their former conference counterparts do battle at noon from LaValle Stadium, with the contest streaming live on FloCollege.
