Midfielder Siobhan Rafferty recorded a hat trick the last time the Stony Brook women’s lacrosse team played a nationally-ranked team in front of fans at Lavalle Stadium. She had to wait through a global pandemic to top that performance, but once her chance came, she did not disappoint.
Rafferty scored a career-high six goals in the No. 6 Stony Brook women’s lacrosse team’s 16-5 trouncing of No. 16 Johns Hopkins on Sunday, five of which came in the first half. The Seawolves (3-2) fell behind 4-1 within the first five minutes but responded with nine unanswered goals to finish with their highest scoring output against a ranked team this season.
Midfielder Ellie Masera and attacker Kailyn Hart each scored four goals, and goalkeeper Charlie Campbell made seven saves to recover from her rocky start.
“We’re a younger group that’s just going to keep getting better and I think the thing with big game experience, the only way to get better is by being in big games,” head coach Joe Spallina said in a press release. “Our defense rebounded in a big way against a nationally-ranked team and I’m really proud of our kids.”
After Rafferty scored the first goal of the game, goalkeeper Kathleen Garvey saved the Seawolves’ next three shots. Rafferty went on a rampage after that, scoring three of Stony Brook’s next five goals as her team took an 8-4 lead heading into halftime.
“After we went down, we started to read their offensive sequences a little better and we got some great saves,” Spallina said. “We were able to go on a run and it made them play a little bit faster against our defense, which plays into what we do.
The Seawolves’ defense was nearly perfect in the third quarter. Johns Hopkins (4-3) scored a goal on a free-position attempt, their only shot of the quarter, as Rafferty and midfielder Rayna Sabella each caused turnovers.
Stony Brook slowed the pace down in the fourth quarter and won three of four draw controls to hold Johns Hopkins scoreless.
Masera’s performance brought her to a team-leading 22 points on the season. She has scored at least four goals in all but one game this year, and it’s fair to wonder if the sophomore will be the next in a long line of nationally-recognized Stony Brook lacrosse players.
