Back in the national rankings and beating up conference opponents, the No. 20 Stony Brook men’s lacrosse team took to the road on Saturday, April 3. The Seawolves routed the Hartford Hawks by a final score of 17-6 behind a hat trick from graduate attackman Tom Haun.
Stony Brook was ranked as high as No. 17 earlier in the season, its first national ranking placement in four years, before a three-game losing streak saw the team tumble in the polls. After beating Albany last week, who were ranked No.19, the Seawolves jumped back in. Another blowout on Saturday for the team’s fourth straight win should only solidify that.
“I thought we did a really good job of coming out with a lot of energy, excitement and good execution,” head coach Anthony Gilardi said in a postgame press release. “We struggled a little in the third quarter, but responded well to close the game out in the fourth.”
With graduate midfielder Matt DeMeo, redshirt-freshman attackman Dylan Pallonetti and graduate attackman Cory VanGinhoven also scoring two goals apiece in Saturday’s victory, the Seawolves move up to 6-3 on the year with a 4-1 conference record. Junior goalkeeper Anthony Palma made 11 saves for the Seawolves to help them shut out the Hawks in the second quarter.
VanGinhoven and Pallonetti, who were recently named to the Tewaaraton Award watch list, played key roles in the victory. Pallonetti leads the team with 25 goals and 14 assists on the season and has won America East Rookie of the Week five times this season.
The Seawolves came out of the second quarter firing, blanking the Hawks and scoring six goals in a row to open up a 10-2 lead at halftime. Stony Brook never stopped its offensive attack, embarking on another five-goal run in the fourth quarter. Altogether, 12 different players found the back of the net in the blowout victory.
Stony Brook, UMBC and Vermont are all tied atop the America East with 4-1 conference records each. Now on a roll, the Seawolves return to action next Saturday, April 10 at NJIT, looking for a redo of their earlier 13-4 victory against the Highlanders.
