CHESTNUT HILL, Mass. – For the 12
th season in a row, the No, 18 Stony Brook women's lacrosse team is headed to the second round of the NCAA Tournament after a 11-8 victory over No. 17 Loyola Maryland on Friday afternoon. The Seawolves improved to 10-0 all-time in the first round of the NCAA Tournament with the win.
Stony Brook was paced by three goal scorers in
Courtney Maclay,
Isabella Caporuscio, and
Alexandra Fusco. Maclay led all scorers with a career and game-high six goals, as Caporuscio notched a hat trick, and Fusco recorded a pair for the Seawolves.
It was a complete team effort on the defensive end as
Avery Hines,
Allie Masera,
Abby Sabella, and
Alexa Constant ran a tight ship, causing 14 turnovers and collecting 15 ground balls.
Natalia Altebrando made eight saves in the cage, earning her 13
th win of the season.
HOW IT HAPPENED
Through the first nine minutes of play, the Seawolves and Greyhounds traded shots but were unable to score. Stony Brook then opened scoring at 5:11 as Maclay notched her first of the day. Loyola responded with two of their own before the Seawolves' found the back of the net, twice, with 15 seconds remaining in the quarter to take a 3-2 lead.
The Greyhounds tied it up as the second quarter began followed by a solo two-goal run by Maclay through less than four minutes of play. Loyola was able to even it back out at five apiece before the Seawolves took a two-goal lead into the break. It would be a woman-up goal from Fusco with less than two minutes in the half and a rocket of a free-position goal from Caporuscio at the buzzer to give Stony Brook a 7-5 advantage.
It was a quiet third quarter as Loyola scored a pair to start the half and Maclay got the Seawolves' lone goal with 11 seconds to go, holding a 7-8 lead heading into the fourth.
Momentum was on Stony Brook's side, scoring three more goals from Caporuscio, Maclay, and Fusco as the Greyhounds scored the final goal of the contest and the Seawolves went on to win, 11-8.
STATS AND NOTES
- Stony Brook advanced to its 12th consecutive NCAA Tournament Second Round and improved to 10-0 all-time in first round games (earned first round byes in 2015 & 2018).
- The Seawolves improve to 6-1 all-time in neutral site NCAA Tournament games.
- Courtney Maclay had a career performance for the Seawolves, notching a team-high six goals.
- Isabella Caporuscio registered a hat trick for the Stony Brook squad, her 10th of the season. She added four draw controls, three caused turnovers, and a pair of ground balls to her final stat line.
- Alexandra Fusco notched a pair of goals, her ninth consecutive game with two or more goals.
- Casey Colbert continued a dominant season leading the team and CAA in total assists, adding three on the day (55 this season, fifth all-time in a single-season).
- Charlotte Wilmoth and Riley McDonald each finished with an assist apiece.
- Natalia Altebrando earned the win in the cage as she made eight saves through 60 full minutes of action.
- Senior defender Avery Hines added to her program single-season caused turnovers recorded with three more to bring her season total to 78.
- Stony Brook outshot Loyola Maryland, 34-24 and sent 21 shots on goal to the Greyhounds' 16.
- Head coach Joe Spallina earned his 297th career win.
QUOTES FROM THE SEAWOLVES
NEXT UP
Stony Brook advances to the NCAA Tournament Second Round to face No. 3 seed and host, Boston College, on Sunday, May 11 at 12 p.m. The game will be played at Alumni Stadium and air on ESPN+. This marks just the sixth time in program history that the Seawolves and Eagles will go head-to-head. The teams last met in the 2018 NCAA Tournament Quarterfinals where Boston College emerged victorious 12-11 in overtime.
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