The Stony Brook men’s soccer team scored four goals — its highest scoring output in almost four years — to secure its first win of 2022.
The Seawolves hosted the Saint Peter’s Peacocks on Monday at Kenneth P. LaValle Stadium for their home opener. Stony Brook (1-1) dominated Saint Peter’s 4-1, en route to securing its first win of the new season. Stony Brook was led by its offense and had its way with the Peacocks’ defense.
Stony Brook’s dominant offensive performance began in the 21st minute, when forward Jonas Bičkus scored off of an assist from midfielder Trevor Harrison. The goal by Bičkus was the team’s first goal of the season. After a Saint Peter’s goal, the game was tied 1-1 going into the second half.
The match remained tied until forward Moses Bakabulindi scored his first goal as a Seawolf to put his team up 2-1. In the 67th minute, Bičkus tacked on his second goal of the game to extend the lead to 3-1. In the final minute of the game, forward Kameron Blaise put the game away with his first goal since the spring of 2021.
“Obviously, it’s good to get a win,” head coach Ryan Anatol said in a postgame interview with The Statesman. “Overall, I’m pretty happy. It’s a positive step forward; you want to get results. To win the game 4-1, you’ve got to be pretty happy.”
The four goals Stony Brook scored were their most in a single match since Oct. 27, 2018, when they beat Hartford 6-0.
“Part of it was how we defended,” Anatol said. “We defended higher, we pressed them a little bit higher, we turned them over which led to more possessions for us. We were able to get behind them a lot easier.”
The Seawolves outshot Saint Peter’s 15-8, with Bičkus leading the attack. He attempted five shots with four being on goal. The two goals marked his first career multi-goal game as a Seawolf.
“The feeling is wonderful,” Bičkus said. “Especially the home opener … and the win. That’s most important for the whole team.”
The Peacocks’ only goal came from defender Tom Climpson coming off of a corner kick with 34:58 left in the first half. Part of that is due to the strong goaltending from goalkeeper Curtis Copenhaver. In his second career start, he recorded four saves while holding Saint Peter’s scoreless in the second half.
Looking ahead, the Seawolves will open their conference season this Saturday at home against No. 17 Hofstra. This will be the Seawolves’ first conference game as a member of the Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) in men’s soccer. Hofstra is also 1-1 after they lost their previous game to Rhode Island 2-0.
