STONY BROOK, N.Y. — No. 5-seeded Stony Brook women's lacrosse defended its home turf on Sunday, taking down Boston College 10-9 in the second round of the NCAA Tournament, securing a spot in the quarterfinal round for the first time since 2022.
HOW IT HAPPENED
Defense dictated the first five minutes of play until
Julia Fusco opened the scoring, firing home a goal off a nice pass from
Mirabella Altebrando to give the Seawolves an early 1-0 advantage. Less than two minutes later, Stony Brook doubled its lead by capitalizing on an Eagle turnover, as a wide-open
Jeilinne Bonilla scored in front of the net. The Seawolves' momentum continued with back-to-back free-position goals, extending the lead to 4-0 with 2:17 remaining in the first quarter. That score held through the end of the opening frame as the Stony Brook defense stifled Boston College and kept the Eagles scoreless in the first frame.
Boston College got on the board in the opening minutes of the second quarter, but the Seawolves answered immediately, just seven seconds later, when
Isabella Caporuscio secured the draw control, raced downfield, and scored to restore the four-goal lead.
Haydin Eisfeld joined the scoring five minutes later, showing off impressive footwork before finding the back of the net to make it 6-1 Stony Brook. The Eagles closed the half with two of the final three goals, trimming the deficit to 7-3 at the break.
Boston College was able to generate two strong scoring chances to begin the third quarter, but
Natalia Altebrando came up with a pair of key saves to preserve the four-goal advantage. After having a goal waved off, Caporuscio buried her next two opportunities, pushing the Seawolves ahead 9-3 with 10:13 remaining in the quarter. The Eagles responded with four straight goals, cutting the deficit to 9-7 with under a minute left in the third.
Following a big defensive stand to open the fourth quarter, Stony Brook regained momentum as another goal from Eisfeld extended the lead back to three. Refusing to go away, Boston College scored the next two goals to pull within one with 4:13 remaining. The Seawolves then controlled possession for much of the next two minutes, getting off two shots and collecting a pair of ground balls to keep the ball away from the Eagles. After getting the ball back, Boston College turned it right over, failing on its clear attempt as
Hailey Huebner drew a charge for a caused turnover, giving possession back to Stony Brook. Continuing the trend of resilience, the Eagles then forced a turnover with under a minute to go. Eisfeld would then make the play of the day, knocking the ball away and forcing a turnover on a Boston College free-position attempt, icing the game for the Seawolves and securing the 10-9 victory at LaValle Stadium.
STATS AND NOTES
- Following today's thrilling victory over the Eagles, Stony Brook is headed to the quarterfinal round of the NCAA Tournament for the fifth time ever and for the first time since 2022.
- The Seawolves victory also ends Boston College's streak of eight straight trips to the semifinal round of the NCAA Tournament.
- Caporuscio contributed across the board, tallying four goals, four draw controls, two ground balls, and two caused turnovers.
- Eisfeld scored a pair of goals and handed out an assist. She also caused one turnover on the final Eagle possession of the game, helping secure the Stony Brook win.
- Olivia Schorr, Fusco, Bonilla, and Keira Martin each tallied a goal for the Seawolves in today's victory.
- Huebner forced a game-best three caused turnovers in her 17th game this season with three or more.
- Natalia Altebrando stepped up big in net, making eight saves, helping fend off the Eagle comeback attempt.
- Stony Brook outshot Boston College 24-22 and has still not been outshot in a game this season.
- The Seawolves possessed a major advantage in ground balls, scooping up 17 to the Eagles' 8.
- Making the most of its chances in the free-position, Stony Brook scored on four of its six chances.
UP NEXT
The Seawolves now advance to the quarterfinal round of the NCAA Tournament, and will matchup against No. 4-seeded Johns Hopkins on Thursday, May 14. The quarterfinal round will air on ESPNU at a time that is still to be determined.
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