Author Archives: Mike Daniello

Mike Daniello

About Mike Daniello

Mike is a junior at Stony Brook University and is majoring in journalism. He joined The Statesman during the fall of his freshman year and became an assistant editor for his sophomore year. He has written about all sports, but enjoys baseball the most. Mike went to Omaha, Nebraska to report on the Stony Brook baseball team after it famously reached the College World Series. After college, he hopes to be a baseball writer and one day report on the New York Yankees. In the fall of 2012 he will begin an internship with “the Southampton Press.”

Former RB Miguel Maysonet released by Eagles, picked up by Browns

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According to a league source, Stony Brook's former star running back Miguel Maysonet was released from the Philadelphia Eagles this morning. (FRANK POSILLICO/ THE STATESMAN)

According to a league source, Stony Brook’s former star running back Miguel Maysonet was picked up by the Cleveland Browns after being released from the Philadelphia Eagles yesterday. (FRANK POSILLICO/ THE STATESMAN)

Just one day after being released by the Philadelphia Eagles, former Seawolf running back Miguel Maysonet has signed with the Cleveland Browns as per a league source.

Maysonet signed with the Eagles after the NFL draft as a priority free agent, receiving a $10,000 signing bonus. An NFL ruling prohibits college seniors from participating in workouts until they graduate so, since Stony Brook does not graduate until Friday, May 24, he was unable to participate in Organized Team Activities (OTAs). He did, however, participate in the rookie camp earlier this month.

In Cleveland, Maysonet will compete with Montario Hardesty, Chris Ogbonnaya, Brandon Jackson and Dion Lewis for a backup spot behind featured back Trent Richardson.

The 23-year-old running back had one of the greatest seasons in FCS history with 1,964 yards and 21 touchdowns.

Running back Marcus Coker set to step up next season

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Marcus Coker was a star at Iowa before transferring to Stony Brook.

Marcus Coker was a star at Iowa before transferring to Stony Brook.

He walks into the room: All six feet and 230 pounds of him. A biker’s helmet in one arm and a smile on his face. He is very intimidating looking, rightfully so for a football player. But junior running back Marcus Coker is one of the nicest guys off the field.

Coker transferred from Iowa after two seasons with the Hawkeyes. In those two seasons, he rushed for over 2,000 yards and 18 touchdowns. He finished second in the Big Ten in rushing and was named to the second-team all conference after gaining 1,384 yards as a sophomore. In 2010 he was named co-MVP of the Insight Bowl against No. 12 Missouri after rushing for 219 yards and two touchdowns.

He came over to Stony Brook in 2012 and gave the Seawolves, along with senior Miguel Maysonet, the top rushing attack in the Big South Conference and one of the best in the Northeast. Coker was able to adapt to the change well, as he rushed for 1,018 yards and nine touchdowns. It was a big difference for him, as he left a big name school in Iowa to come to a rising athletic program in Stony Brook. “It was a totally different atmosphere than I was expecting, the crowd was a lot more bigger and they came out every game, no matter who we were playing or what was up for grabs,” Coker said.

Coker admitted he did struggle a little at first, but with the help of head coach Chuck Priore, he was able to overcome it and have a great year. “I was stressing a lot, I wasn’t playing as well as I wanted to, he was telling me to have fun and to go out there and do what I can do,” Coker said.

Coker played in 13 games last season, starting in two of them. He had a season-high 29 rushes in the first round of the playoffs against Villanova. His top offensive performance came at Presbyterian on Oct. 27, when he rushed for 144 yards and two touchdowns.

Playing behind Miguel Maysonet, Coker rushed for 1,017 yards this season.

Playing behind Miguel Maysonet, Coker rushed for 1,017 yards this season.

With the duo of Maysonet and Coker, the Seawolves were able to reach the second round of the FCS Playoffs. Stony Brook defeated Villanova in the first round 20-10, but fell to Montana State 16-10. Coker described the Villanova win as his favorite moment while at Stony Brook, with intentions of doing it again.

In order to adapt as quickly as he did, Coker needed some help from fellow running back Maysonet. Maysonet, a local Long Island kid who is gaining some serious draft consideration, took Coker under his wing and showed him around Stony Brook, on and off the field. “Just to have fun. He’s a clown,” Coker said. “How everything works at Stony Brook, stuff like the flow, the game.”

The Seawolves are switching conferences next season, leaving the Big South for the CAA. After finishing 5-1 on the season in the Big South, Stony Brook will now be taking on tougher teams like Delaware, Towson, Villanova and Albany. “I have to grind everyday, give it 110 percent,“ Coker said. “It’s the same process every time: Watch a lot of film, just learn what those guys do and try to exploit it.” Stony Brook is somewhat familiar with Villanova, which it beat this season, and Albany, which it beat 31-28 in the first round in 2011.

Coker is from Maryland, so the transfer has been easier for his mother, as she can now attend more games.  During his time at DeMatha Catholic High School, Coker was named all-state, all-county and all-conference two times. He ran for 1,698 yards and 23 touchdowns as a senior. His biggest game in high school came against Gilman, where he ran a school record, 392 yards and five touchdowns.

Baseball falls 7-1 to St. John’s in game played at Citi Field

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The last time the Seawolves were at Citi Field was to celebrate their historic run at the College World Series. Today they were back, this time as the home team, taking on the St. John’s Red Storm. This trip to Citi Field wasn’t as kind to the Seawolves though, as they fell 7-1 in 12 innings.

The game remained tied at one from the fifth inning, until the Red Storm finally broke through in the twelfth. After St. John’s took an early 1-0 lead in the top of the first inning, the Seawolves answered back in the bottom of the fifth. Freshman Austin Shives tripled in sophomore Michael Roehrig to tie the game.

Things remained tied all the way to the twelfth inning, but both teams did have their chances. St. John’s threatened in the sixth and seventh innings, but junior Josh Barry and freshman Kenny Ball were able to limit the Red Storm.

Stony Brook had opportunities to score in the eighth and twelfth innings, but failed to score any runs. “If you’re only going to get six of them (hits) then they need to be timely hits,” head coach Matt Senk said. “Just getting timely more than anything but getting a large quantity of them.”

Junior Bryan Tatelman entered the game for the Seawolves in the twelfth, but failed to get any of the batters he faced out. He walked two and gave up one hit before being replaced by senior G.C. Yerry. Yerry faced just four batters and only got one out. He hit Martin Kelly with the bases loaded to force a run in, what turned out to be the game-winning run.

The big blow came against the next batter, Frank Schwindel. Schwindel doubled in three runs, to put the Red Storm up 5-1. Sean O’Hare followed with a double of his own to plate Schwindel. Kyle Lombardo came up a few batters later and doubled in O’Hare to give the Red Storm a 7-1 lead.

Stony Brook came up in the bottom of the twelfth inning, but stranded runners at first and second. Joey Christopher picked up the win for St. John’s, as he pitched three innings and gave up just three hits and struck out one. Tatelman got the loss for the Seawolves, as he falls to 0-3 on the season.

Shives had two of the six hits for the Seawolves, as did sophomore Cole Peragine. Freshmen Jack Parenty and Johnny Caputo each had a hit as well.

“This was a great experience for our players and our program and up until that top of the twelfth, it was a really terrific game and it’s unfortunate ended the way it did,” Senk said. “It’ll be an experience our guys will look back on. It’s been real enjoyable.”

Cassano’s leadership helps Seawolves hockey rise

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Daniel Cassano originally attended NCAA Division-III Neumann University before transfering to Stony Brook. Photo by Adrian Szkolar.

Daniel Cassano originally attended NCAA Division-III Neumann University before transfering to Stony Brook. Photo by Adrian Szkolar.

Daniel Cassano remembers playing hockey with older kids as early as the age of four. Now he plays Division I club hockey for one of the biggest named colleges in Stony Brook. He is an alternate captain on a team that reached Nationals again, its 13th time in 14 seasons.

But Cassano didn’t start his collegiate hockey career at Stony Brook. He originally went to Division III, Neumann University in Pennsylvania. They were fresh off of a National Championship, but Cassano decided to stay one semester and come back home and go to Stony Brook. Head coach Chris Garofalo finally got his man and Cassano went right to work.

“Coach Garofolo had been in contact with me for many years and it seemed like a great fit,” Cassano said.

Since coming to Stony Brook, Cassano and the Seawolves have been impressive.  The team reached the National tournament every season that Cassano played except for the 2011-12 season. Just this past season they reached Nationals again, defeating University of Rhode Island, but fell to Adrian College in the second round.

It was a disappointment for the team, but it is looking to improve on it in the future.

“I just feel the consistency factor is the biggest key.  The best teams are the best teams for a reason.  They are consistently prepared and willing to pay the price to win every single night.  I feel that we wanted to win but in some cases weren’t willing to do whatever it took as far as being physical, staying out of the penalty box and playing within our system.  If we can do that we will be a force to be reckoned with next season,” Cassano said.

One of the reasons the team has been able to make it to Nationals constantly has to do with their coach and how he prepares them. Coach Garofalo has been able to schedule the team games against some of the toughest opponents around the country to prepare the Seawolves mentally and physically. Just this past season, the team took on No. 1 Arizona State University and lost by only one goal in both games. In the first game, the Seawolves fell in a shootout, and in the second game, they lost in overtime. Pretty impressive for a club team to just barely lose to the top team in the country, who was 22-4 at the time.

Cassano_Delaware_Szkolar_web

Cassano finished the 2012-13 season with 39 points in 31 games. Through his career at Stony Brook, Cassano has a total of 104 points; 39 goals and 65 assists. Photo by Adrian Szkolar.

“That showed me that we had come a long way as a program from when I first got here a few years back,” Cassano said.

Mike Cacciotti is the captain of the team and Cassano is one of the leaders on the team, sharing alternate captain duties with Wesley Hawkins and Sean Collins.

“I took being named an alternate captain very seriously when I was told by Coach Garafolo.  Its quite an honor and it was something that the players on the team voted on so to have the respect of your fellow teammates it was something I took great pride in, knowing that my teammates thought I was someone they thought would be a good leader,” Cassano said.

As an alternate captain, Cassano helps lead the team by example. He helps lead the underclassmen both on an off the ice. It could be something like learning a new play or even picking a class to take, and Cassano will be there for his teammates.

“I always try to set the example to my teammates that no matter what it is, practice or game, hard work and preparation are vital to success.  I give 100 percent every time I stepped on the ice and tried to be a role model for what a Stony Brook hockey player should be, dedicated, intense and passionate,” Cassano said.

Cassano has already had an impressive run in hockey, but there is one thing that tops it all for him: He was selected to the New York State 16-Year Old team, which had the 20 best 16-year olds on it. Among those was current NHL star Patrick Kane, along with other top Division-I players.

“Pretty surreal when I think back on it,” Cassano said.

But it isn’t just personal accolades for the senior from Deer Park; he also takes pride in winning the Eastern States Collegiate Hockey League Conference Championship last season.

“Anytime you win a championship as a member of a team its special and you share a bond with your teammates forever. We had always fallen short when we played Delaware and to finally be able to come together as a team and beat them in their own rink and be able to lift the championship trophy, it was an amazing experience.  To be able to share it with my teammates was both fun and rewarding,” Cassano said.

Despite being a senior this season, Cassano will be back next year in hopes of finally winning a National championship. He gained an extra year of eligibility after tearing his ACL during his sophomore season.

Softball splits two at FAU

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The Seawolves split their two games on Sunday, with a 6-1 win over Florida A&M, and a 1-0 loss to Louisiana-Monroe. Junior Christine Lucido picthed a complete game against the Rattlers to pick up her fifth win of the year.Despite only giving up one run to Louisiana-Monroe in the first game, the Seawolves could not score at all and were shut out. Freshman Jane Sallen allowed just two hits in three innings and allowed a sacrifice fly in the third for Stony Brook. Sophomore Allison Cukrov relieved Sallen and did not allow a run in four innings and struck out three.

The Seawolves only managed two hits, one from sophomore Bria Green and one by freshman Diane Caruso. Stony Brook threatened in the sixth inning, as Caruso led off with a single, but pinch runner Nicole Schieferstein was left stranded at third base.

Lucido picked things up for Stony Brook in the second game, as she struck out five in the complete game win against Florida A&M.

Stony Brook scored first in the third inning, when junior Olivia Mintun scored off of an error. They scored four more runs in the fourth inning, three coming off of two Florida A&M errors. Junior Jessica Combs plated the other run with an RBI double.

Redshirt junior Jessica Zeilman brought home another run in the seventh with her third single of the game.

Stony Brook scored six runs against Florida A&M, despite only scoring six runs in their first four games combined.

Combs batted .500 this weekend, with seven hits. Sallen led the Seawolves with a 1.91 ERA in 11 innings.

The Seawolves will host the Stony Brook Invitational next weekend, opening up play against Yale on Friday at 11:30 a.m.

Men’s Lacrosse sweeps two Big East teams

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Freshman midfielder Challen Rogers lead Stony Brook with three goals and three assists against Rutgers. Photo by Nina Lin.

Freshman midfielder Challen Rogers lead Stony Brook with three goals and three assists against Rutgers. Photo by Nina Lin.

Freshman Brody Eastwood scored the game-winning goal with just 40 seconds left in the third overtime as the Seawolves defeated Rutgers 9-8 on Saturday. Senior Jeff Tundo assisted the goal, as Eastwood beat Kris Alleyne over his left shoulder.

With the win, Stony Brook is now .500 for the first time under head coach Jeff Nagle. Freshman Challen Rogers scored three goals and had three assists in the game for Stony Brook. Tundo also scored in the game and had three assists.

Sophomore Mike Andreassi and freshman Chris Hughes both scored two goals for the Seawolves. Freshman goaltender Dan Shaughnessy had 10 saves in the win.

Rogers had three goals and three assists and Hughes had two goals of his own.

Stony Brook won the ground ball battle 29-26 for the first time all season.

Freshman Frank Lucatuorto won both overtime face-offs for the Seawolves.

Stony Brook’s largest lead of the game came in after Hughes’ second goal, when they went up 3-1.

The game was tied six times and saw seven lead changes.

Tundo now has 13 goals and 10 assists after five games.

Rutgers is 5-2 against Stony Brook, but both of Stony Brook’s wins came at Rutgers.

This win was the second straight victory over a Big East opponent. The Seawolves defeated St. John’s 11-7 on Tuesday. Tundo had five goals and four assists in that win. Stony Brook will return home Tuesday as they take on Siena at 3:30 pm.

Women’s basketball loses to Albany, seeded No. 4 for AE tournament

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The Seawolves will take on New Hampshire Friday at 8 p.m. Photo by Nina Lin.

The Seawolves will take on New Hampshire Friday at 8 p.m. Photo by Nina Lin.

Despite having a game-high 19 points, Chikilra Goodman and the Seawolves fell to Albany 60-49 on Saturday.

Sabre Proctor had 14 points of her own as the Seawolves finished the regular season at 14-15, 6-10 in the America East.

They will be the number four seed in next weekend’s America East tournament.

Ebone Henry led the way for Albany with 15 points, as she and Goodman earned America East Player of the Game honors.

Stony Brook trailed by 15 in the first half, but was able to close within four, before falling in the end.

They opened the second half on an 8-0 run.

Albany quickly went back up nine, as Megan Craig made a layup and Henry hit a three-pointer just 15 seconds later.

The Great Danes were able to hold on, and win their 16th game in a row.

They finished the season with a perfect 16-0 record.

Stony Brook outscored Albany 26-25 in the second half, but were down 35-23 at half.

Gatling and Snow had four rebounds each for the Seawolves.

There is a four-way tie between New Hampshire, Stony Brook, UMBC and Vermont after a win by UNH and losses by Stony Brook, UMBC and Vermont.
UMBC holds the initial tiebreak with a 4-2 record against the other three squads and will be the No. 3 seed. Stony Brook possesses head-to-head tiebreaks with Vermont and New Hampshire and will be a No. 4 seed and play No. 5 UNH, who owns the head-to-head advantage over Vermont, the sixth seed.

Stony Brook was picked to finished 9th in the America East pre-season poll.

Albany is the seventh women’s basketball team to finish undefeated in regular season conference play.

#4 Stony Brook (14-15, 6-10 AE) will play #5 New Hampshire (11-17, 6-10AE) Friday at 8 p.m.

#1 Albany (25-3, 16-0AE) will play #8 Maine (4-24, 3-12AE) at 6 p.m. on Friday.

#2 Hartford (19-10, 10-6AE) will take on #7 Binghamton  (6-23, 5-11AE) Friday at 12:00 p.m.

#3 UMBC (10-19, 6-10AE) will play #6 Vermont (9-20, 6-10AE) at 2:00 p.m. on Friday.

All games will televised on ESPN 3.

The Semifinals will be Sunday, and the title game will be the following Saturday at the home of the highest seed.

Softball goes 3-1 at Longwood Spring Classic

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The Seawolves split their two games on Sunday, defeating Bucknell 4-3 in eight innings, but fell to Longwood 3-0. The Seawolves now stand at 4-6 on the season.

Despite beating Bucknell by 11 runs on Saturday, the Seawolves needed extra innings to knock off the Bison. Stony Brook scored the first three runs of the game, but Bucknell was able to claw their way back.

Sophomore Bria Green had an RBI single in the first inning, before junior Jessica Combs hit a two-run single in the third inning.

Freshman Jane Sallen gave up just one run through the first six innings, before giving up a two-run home run to tie the game.

Bucknell started off the eighth inning with a runner on second base, before a groundout moved her to third. The Bison then attempted to squeeze home the run, but third-baseman Gina Bianculli was able to field the bunt and get the runner out at home.

Stony Brook squeezed their runner to third base to start off the bottom half of the eighth inning, before junior Jessica Zeilman singled to right to end the game.

The Seawolves were unable to hit Longwood pitcher Brooke Short, who threw a complete-game one-hitter and allowed just four total baserunners. Short had a no-hitter throw 6.2 innings until Zeilman singled to right field. Freshman Alexandra Pisciotta then drew a walk to bring the tying run to the plate, but Short got the pinch-hitter, redshirt sophomore Nicole Hoyle, to end the game.

Short also had a big day with the bat, as she hit a solo home run in the fourth inning. Longwood scored two more runs later in the game to go up three.

Sophomore Allison Cukrov gave up just four hits, but had to settle for the loss.

Stony Brook out-hit its opponents this weekend 25-16 and outscored them 20-10. Four Seawolves batted over .300, led by junior Nicole Schieferstein, who went 3-for-6.

Lucido went 2-0 with a 2.00 ERA in seven innings.All

Wrestling to host first home meet this season, match up against SUNY Cortland

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The Wrestling team will have its first home meet at Ward Melville High School. Photo courtesy of Stony Brook Wrestling.

The Wrestling team will have its first home meet at Ward Melville High School. Photo courtesy of Stony Brook Wrestling.

The Stony Brook Wrestling Club will be holding its first home meet on Saturday, Feb. 16 at Ward Melville High School. Its members will be taking on another SUNY school, Cortland. The team is currently 1-3 in dual matches, but is looking to improve its record on Saturday.

Head coach Shaun Lally decided it was time for the team to finally have a home match. “It needed to be done. They should be entitled to at least one home competition,” Lally said. “We needed to have a home match and show everyone how its being supported.”

This will also serve as a homecoming for some of the wrestlers at Cortland—Mike Piro, Nicholas Falco and John Widmann are from Long Island, so they will be returning to the area where they started wrestling. “They have a lot of guys from Long Island and they’re known in the SUNY system,” Lally said. “It’s a battle between upstate and downstate.”

Unlike Stony Brook, Cortland has two wrestling teams—one that is part of Cortland athletics, the other a club team. Stony Brook will be taking on the club team, which is coached by Justin Altro.

This home match is just the beginning for the program, according to coach Lally. “We wanted this for a very long time. We’d like to host a tournament and more matches every year,” he said.

With the season coming to an end, Lally has reflected on what has been a very successful year for a new program on campus. “I love the competitions and tournaments. I’m looking forward to regionals, which we’re working towards,” Lally said.

Tickets are available through the Stony Brook wrestling club and can be found on the club’s Facebook page.

 

Chris Colfer: Emmy nominee, Golden Globe winner and new author

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Photo Credit: MCT Campus

If you need a good book to read over the holiday break, you should consider reading “Struck by Lightning” by Chris Colfer. There is a movie based on the book, but if you have the time, reading the book is more than worth it.

The book follows Carson Phillips, a high school senior looking to get into Northwestern University, doing whatever it takes to increase his chances of getting into the school of his dreams. It is a constant reminder of how stressful senior year can be and how a person will resort to any means to get what they want.

Carson goes as far as blackmailing his classmates to get them to join a magazine he was told to start to better his chances of acceptance to Northwestern. He also has to deal with the separation of his parents, his alcoholic and drugged up mother, his father’s remarrying and his grandmother’s Alzheimer’s disease.This would take a toll on anyone, but the fact that it happens to a high school senior looking to move forward with his life makes it seem even more difficult to cope with.

Carson is also one of the less popular kids in school, but he is fine with that. Since he does not care about his time as a high school student, he has no issues with blackmailing his peers.

He is ruthless with his blackmail; he goes as far as blackmailing a football coach who is sleeping with one of the cheerleaders. Carson will stop at nothing to get into his dream school.

Phillips also blackmails a student named Emilio, who pretends to be a foreign exchange student. Emilio is also having sex with one of the secretaries, but Carson just goes after his faked accent. The list goes on and on.

Throughout his time participating in underhanded activities, Carson talks to his grandmother who is incapable of remembering his plans.

Through all of this, Colfer shows how it really is a struggle for kids trying to get into college and how there is an extreme, unfair expectation for them. Kids today have the feeling that they need to get into a prestigious college in order to be successful in life. If they do not, they will end up unsuccessful and unhappy.

These expectations are unfair for anyone, especially someone who is still in their teenage years. Colfer makes his writing very relatable to his audience.

It was likely easy for Colfer to cover this topic. He is openly gay and was bullied in high school. This is similar to his character in “Glee”, Kurt Hummel.

Colfer starred in and produced the movie version of his novel, and the movie will premiere worldwide on Jan. 11, 2013, after opening during the Tribeca Film Festival in April 2012.

Stony Brook football’s Miguel Maysonet in campaign for Walter Payton award

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The Walter Payton Award is given to the top offensive player in the Division I Football Championship Subdivision and could find its way into senior running back Miguel Maysonet’s hands.

Stony Brook athletics had come up with a campus-wide campaign for the senior, who leads the FCS in rushing with 1,502 yards and 16 total touchdowns.

He is among 20 nominees for the award and is the first Seawolf to be nominated.

Stony Brook has come up with a twitter handle, @Maysonet4Payton and will use the hashtag, #Maysonet4Payton.

The campaign also includes a website, Maysonet4Payton.com and will have highlights, quotes and statistics.

Maysonet is second in all-purpose yards with 199.11 yards per game and fourth in scoring with 10.67 per game.

He is also the leading rusher in the FCS with 129.2 yards per game and yard per carry with 7.03.

The senior is also in the top 10 in career yards and rushing touchdowns with 41.

Past Walter Payton Award winners include Dallas Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo, former quarterback Steve McNair and retired running back Brian Westbrook.

It will be tough for Maysonet, as he is going up against some of the top players in the country.

Among the nominees is runningbacks, Sharkir Bell of of Indiana State and Tim Flanders of Sam Houston State.

Also nominated are quarterbacks Taylor Heinicke of Old Dominion and Brad Sorensen of Southern Utah, and Aaron Mellette, a wide-receiver from Elon.

All of these players were named Top FCS players to watch for the 2012 season, by the NCAA.

Maysonet will have one more game to improve his stats, on Saturday, Nov. 10 at Liberty.

He has broken career records this season with 32 attempts against Army, yards with 233 against  Coastal Carolina and longest rush of 84 yards against Central Connecticut.

The award is given to honor the late Walter Payton, who starred for the Chicago Bears in the National Football League.

Payton also played for Jackson State University in college before being drafted.

He also has another award named after him, the Walter Payton Man of the Year award, given to NFL players, who volunteer and give back.

Men’s soccer continues unbeaten streak, now at five

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The Stony Brook men’s soccer team played to a 1-1 tie against Central Connecticut State University following a goal from senior Leonardo Fernandes. It was the team’s fifth consecutive game in which it did not lose.

CCSU’s Eddy Bogle passed the ball to Jesse Menzies, who scored in the top right corner of the goal. Fernandes later scored off of a pass from freshman Martin Giordano to tie the game.

Fernandes has scored goals in the team’s last four matches and points in 13 of 15 games. He is now tied with Charlie Matos (1985-88) for third all-time in career goals in Stony Brook history with 28 of them.

Senior Stefan Manz made eight saves in goal, one short of his career high.

The Seawolves are now 1-0-2 all-time against the Blue Devils, with one of those ties coming in 2005. They won the America East regular season and tournament championship that same year.

Senior Leonardo Fernandes had the go-ahead goal in the 69th minute, which gave the Seawolves a lead they would not relinquish.

With the win the Seawolves improved their record to 6-2 on the season. Their four game winning streak also ties their longest winning streak since 2007.

The Seawolves got off to a quick start, as freshman Martin Giordano broke open the scoring just 26 seconds in.

Giordano headed in a free kick by senior Kyle Schlesinger to give Stony Brook the early lead. The freshman has now scored in back-to-back games.

Stony Brook was able to maintain the 1-0 advantage until early on in the second half. Sacred Heart’s Marcello Castro tied the game up only a minute into the second half on a free kick goal from about 20 yards out.

The Stony Brook defense was outstanding for most of the game, including a stretch where they did not allow a shot on goal between the 27th and 81st minutes.

The defense, which was the catalyst in Stony Brook’s go-ahead goal, was able to force a turnover allowing freshman Alejandro Fritz to bring the ball up into the box and chip the ball in the direction of Fernandes. Fernandes was then able to secure the ball away from the nearby defender and fire a shot just inside the left post past goalkeeper Tucker Hackett.

Fernandes’ goal was his 27th career goal as a member of the Seawolves, which tied him for fourth all time with Tony Caputo on Stony Brook’s all-time scoring list.

Fernandes has also scored the winning goal for Stony Brook in each of the Seawolves’ last three games.

More Stony Brook history was made as goalkeeper Stefan Manz got his 24th career win today, putting him ahead of Phil Lesko for second place all-time on the career Stony Brook’s wins list. The senior made five saves in today’s game to get his fourth victory of the season.

Stony Brook now begins conference play, as their next seven games will be against teams that are in the America East. As of now Stony Brook is in first place in the conference, with a 6-2-1 record.

This Saturday, Stony Brook will wrap up their three game road trip at Albany to begin America East conference play, before coming home to go up against Boston University.

Women’s soccer defeats Lehigh, Manhattan this weekend at LaValle

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Stony Brook women’s soccer defeated Lehigh University 3-1, after rallying from an early deficit. The Seawolves received goals from junior Larissa Nysch, senior Sa’sha Kershaw and freshman Tessa Devereaux.

Lehigh scored an early goal from Paige Elliott just 2:25 into the match. Nysch scored in the 15th minute, to tie the game at one.

The game remained tied into the second half until Kershaw’s goal, which was scored just 52 seconds in.

Devereaux scored her first goal in her college career, just three minutes after Kershaw’s.

Nysch, Kershaw and Devereaux all had a goal and an assist on the day.

Junior goaltender Ashley Castanio had three saves on the day as she picked up her sixth win on the season.

Stony Brook outshot Lehigh 20-9, as they improved to 6-2-1 overall and 3-0-1 at home.

The Seawolves final non-conference game is on Friday, Sept. 21, as they host Loyola University.

The Stony Brook women’s soccer team defeated Manhattan College 1-0 Friday, with the winning goal made by senior captain Sa’sha Kershaw in the second half.

Kershaw scored in the 85th minute after getting a ball from a freshman Raven Edwards in the left wing.

Stony Brook was dominant in the game and but could not finish many chances they made before Kershaw scored.

As soon as the game began, the Seawolves threatened the Jaspers. In the 13th minute, Edwards missed a shot, shooting the ball right to the goal.

After six minutes, freshman Tessa Devereaux threatened Manhattan as her shot deflected off a Manhattan defender.

Even though the Jaspers tried to pass the ball upfield, they were blocked by the Seawolves’ defenders.

In the second half, both teams were more aggressive.  The Jaspers made two shots on goal of four shots, but Seawolves goalkeeper junior Ashley Castanio denied the chances with two saves. Castanio got the third shutout of the season.

In 60th minute, sophomore Regan Bosnyak and Edwards missed two chances that were made in a row in the box.  Taryn Schoenbeck, a senior, also could not finish two chances in the 73rd and 75th.

The Seawolves outshot the Jaspers 30-4.  Head coach Sue Ryan did not much worry about missing many chances. “The concept of soccer is that you have to take lots of chances to score a goal,” she said. “It’s not similar to basketball where every time you shoot you suppose to score.”

Coach Ryan also complemented Kershaw, who scored.  “Big players do big things in big situation,” said Ryan. “That is the leadership of the senior captain coming out.”

Cross Country hosts first-ever Wolfie Invitational

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Stony Brook hosted its first-ever cross country meet, the Wolfie Invitational, this past weekend.

The Seawolves competed against runners from Wisconsin (in the men’s races), Providence, Marist and Manhattan.

Stony Brook had seven runners finish in the top 25 for the women.

Juniors Olivia Burne and Annie Keown finished in fourth and fifth place, respectively.

Burne finished the race in 18:02.24, and Keown finished 15 seconds after that.

Freshman Christina Melian finished in eighth place with a time of 18:47.83.

Senior Kristal Conklin completed the race in 18:53.38 and finished in 10th place.

Freshman Tara Peck took 13th place and completed the race in 19:05.64.

Junior Robin Lynn and sophomore Kate Pouder finished back-to-back, with 23rd and 24th place, respectively.

Sophomore Eric Speakman finished seventh for the men with a time of 26:22.59.

Junior Carlos Roa finished in 16th place with a time of 26:22.59.

Stony Brook had two more runners finish in the top 25: junior Nicholas Lemon finished 21st (27:17.39) and sophomore Chris Sauer placed 25th (27:31.66).

Stony Brook’s next  race is Friday, Sept. 28 at the Paul Short Run, which is hosted by Lehigh.

Seawolves head to Carrier Dome to take on Syracuse

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Coming off a very impressive 77-7 win against Pace, Stony Brook football looks to a huge challenge against Syracuse next Saturday. The Seawolves totaled 693 yards of offense against Pace, 521 of those  on the ground.

Redshirt freshman Jamie Williams rushed for 144 yards and three touchdowns, and junior transfer Marcus Coker and senior running back Miguel Maysonet each had two touchdowns of their own.

But the Seawolves will be facing their toughest test yet when they take on the Orange in the Carrier Dome.

Syracuse is coming off a 42-29 loss to No. 2 USC Trojans.

The game was played in the home of the New York Jets and Giants at MetLife Stadium.

Syracuse quarterback Ryan Nassib was 30-for-46 with 322 yards and two touchdowns. But the Trojans were too much for the Orange, as Matt Barkley threw six touchdowns for the second best team in the nation.

Meanwhile, the Seawolves are 2-0 for the first time since 2007. They also have an offense that has been hard to stop. They scored 49 points in their first game against Central Connecticut and had 196 yards of offense.

So far, they have scored 126 points and have 1,182 yards of total offense. 822 of those yards have been on the ground, with Maysonet’s leading the way with 225 yards.

They will take on Syrcause for the first time in school history. “I think we have an opportunity to win some football games, which is always good, and we get to work on some situational stuff during the game,” coach Chuck Priore said.

One of the biggest surprises has been senior wide receiver Kevin Norrell, who has 208 yards and two touchdowns.  He had an 89-yard touchdown in the first game and leads the Big South in receiving yards.

Syracuse is led by Nassib, who leads the Big East with 402 yards per game and tied with six touchdown passes. Marcus Sales leads the Big East in receptions per game with 20 and receiving yards per game with 116.5.  Safety Shamarko Thomas leads the defense and had the lone interception off Barkley and set up one of the Orange’s scores.

The Orange play in the Big East and play popular teams like Cincinnati, Louisville and Rutgers.

Syracuse is coached by Doug Marrone, who was previously an offensive coordinator with the New Orleans Saints (2006-08) and an offensive line coach with the New York Jets (2002-05).

The teams play Saturday Sept.15 at 4 p.m. in the Carrier Dome.

Around the Big South Conference

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Coastal Carolina

Coastal Carolina (2-0) is coming off two victories against North Carolina A&T and a triple overtime win over Furman.

Senior quarterback Aramis Hillary, who was named one of the top returning quarterbacks in the country, leads them. Through the first two games, he completed 39 of 55 passes for 566 yards and three touchdowns

Senior running back Jeremy Height leads the team in rushing with 155 yards and two touchdowns, averaging 4.1 yards per carry.

Wide receiver Matt Hazel leads the team with 185 total yards on 10 receptions and two touchdowns. Strong play from junior wide reveivers  DeMario Bennett and Niccolo Mastromatteo have provided Hillary with additional options in the passing game.

Senior defensive back Dontavais  Johnson has three interceptions for the Chanticleers.

Coastal Carolina has out-scored their opponents 76-58, and are averaging 137.5 rushing yards per game and 283 passing yards per game.

Presbyterian

Presbyterian (1-1) is coming off of 59-3 loss to Georgia Tech, after defeating Division-II Brevard 45-10 in it’s opener.

Quarterback Tamyn Garrick has completed 22 of 44 passes for 203 yards in the first two games, throwing one touchdown and one interception.

Running back Lance Byrd leads the team with 189 yards on 31 carries.

Sophomore running back Demarcus Rouse has 146 yards on 14 carries and three touchdowns.

Junior wide receiver Arthur Williams leads the team in both receptions and receiving yards, with seven and 81 yards, respectively, and has the team’s lone receiving touchdown.

Presbyterian’s next opponent is Vanderbilt before they return home to face Furman.

Its head coach is Harold Nicholsm who is in his fourth season as head coach.

He graduated from Presbyterian in 1990.

They will play Stony Brook on Saturday, Oct. 27 at 1:00 p.m.

Charleston Southern University

Charleston Southern University is coached by Jay Mills, who is in his 10th year at the university. It lost both of its games this season, 49-14 against The Citadel and 31-10 to Jacksonville.

It have been outscored 80-24 in the two games and have rushed for only 241 yards. The team has given up 577 rushing yards and 257 passing yards. Charleston Southern has also been out gained 834-608 in total yardage.

Malcolm Dixon leads the team at quarterback and has thrown for 29 yards and one touchdown. Wide receiver leads the team in receiving with 138 yards.

Nathan Perera is right behind him with 134 yards. There next three games are away, at Illinois, Shorter and Stony Brook respectively.

It play at Buccaneer Field, which opened in 1970 and holds 4,000. It became the home for Charleston Southern University in 1991, when they started the program. It takes on Stony Brook at Stony Brook, on Oct. 6.

Gardner-Webb University

Ron Dickerson Jr. is the head coach for Gardner-Webb and is in his second year.

The team is 0-2, having lost 34-7 to #10 Wofford and 41-8 to Richmond.

Juanne Blout leads the team in rushing with 41 yards.

The quarterback is  Lucas Beatty, who has thrown for 223 yards and one touchdown. His longest pass is  62 yards.

The team’s leading receiver is another Deonte Swinton, who has 106 yards on the season.

Their next game is against Samford, before they take on Pittsburgh.

The team joined the Big South as an associate member in 2002, then transitioned to the Big South in all sports in 2008-09.

It plays at Ernest W. Spangler Stadium, which holds 9,000 people.

It has an all-time record of 21-224-3, with no championships. They take on Stony Brook at Stony Brook on Saturday, Oct. 20.

Liberty

Liberty is coming off two straight losses, one to Wake Forest and one to Norfolk State. It fell to Wake Forest 20-17 and 31-24 to Norfolk State. It is coached by Turner Gill, who is in his first season at Liberty. He was a former quarterback at Nebraska and also coached at Buffalo and Kansas.

Liberty has been outscored 51-41 and out-rushed 349 to 261 in their two games.Its top rusher has been Aldreakis Allen, who has 127 net yards. Quarterback Brian Hudson is 32-for-59 with 407 yards and three touchdowns. Wide receiver Pat Kelly leads the team in receiving with 13 catches and 128 yards.

Liberty football plays at Williams Stadium, which holds a capacity of 19,200 It has four conference titles and an overall record of 198-198-4. It won Big South Conference titles in 2007 and 2008, and were co-champions in 2009 with Stony Brook and 2010 with Stony Brook and Coastal Carolina. It takes on Stony Brook on Nov. 3, in Virginia.

VMI

VMI is led by Sparky Woods, who is in his fifth season at the school.

It is 1-1 on the season, with a loss to open the season to Delaware State and a victory against Chowan. It fell to Delaware State 17-10 but defeated Chowan 24-17 the following week.

Quarterback Eric Kordenbrock leads the team in passing with 500 yards and two touchdowns.

He is 41-for-75 with three interceptions as well. Junior David Turner leads the team in receiving with 102 yards on nine catches and no touchdowns.

Turner also leads the team in rushing with 113 net yards on 31 attempts and two touchdowns. It plays Stony Brook on Saturday Nov. 3.