A sock trick from midfielder Noah Armitage helped power the Stony Brook men’s lacrosse team to a blowout win in its conference opener.
In their Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) debut, the Seawolves (4-4, 1-0 CAA) made a statement with a 19-3 win over the Hampton Pirates on Saturday. Down in Virginia, Stony Brook outdid its Wednesday performance against St. John’s, posting season-bests in both goals scored and goals allowed.
The game was never close. Stony Brook came out of the gates firing, as midfielder Will Button hit Armitage in stride to set up the game’s first goal only 42 seconds in. A little over 30 seconds later, attackman Dylan Pallonetti wasted no time and put the Seawolves up 2-0.
The Seawolves overwhelmed Hampton with six shots in the closing four minutes of the period, putting in two more goals to end the quarter with a 4-0 lead.
Stony Brook’s defense allowed only one shot (none on goal) and forced four turnovers, allowing it to post its first scoreless quarter of the year.
The Seawolves’ blowout carried into the second period, as they extended their lead to 7-0. They finally conceded a goal halfway through the quarter to Hampton midfielder Ellison Burt-Murray. However, Stony Brook responded with three consecutive goals to a commanding nine-goal lead.
The Pirates snuck another goal in with just over two minutes left in the half to cut Stony Brook’s lead down to eight by intermission. Hampton opened the second half with a goal from midfielder Xavier Salley, but that was the last time the Seawolves defense surrendered a goal.
Stony Brook ended the game on a 9-0 run, scoring five goals in the third quarter and four more in the fourth. Armitage posted a hat trick in the third quarter alone, reaching a career-high six goals for the game. He also added an assist, giving himself a career-high seven points.
Head coach Anthony Gilardi was ecstatic about his team’s performance.
“We are really excited to earn our program’s first-ever win in CAA play,” Gilardi said in a postgame interview with Stony Brook Athletics. “We are proud of the effort and focus from our guys on a long trip to play to our standards and get a lot of different guys into the game.”
Pallonetti also posted a hat trick, scoring three goals and dishing out an assist. He extended his scoring streak of 36 games.
Attackman Jonathan Huber and midfielder Matt Anderson co-led the team with three assists apiece. Huber scored two goals while Anderson added one.
Attackmen Blake Behlen and Walker Popko each scored one goal. For Popko, it was the first goal of his NCAA career. Midfielders Sean Carlo and Caleb Pearson both added one goal of their own. Long stick midfielder Christian Lowd and defensive midfielder Preston Kral rounded out Stony Brook’s 11 scorers, scoring one goal apiece.
Attackman Ronnie Kraemer did not score a goal, but racked up two assists.
The offense fired on all cylinders in every aspect. The Seawolves outshot the Pirates 56-16, including 37 shots on goal to Hampton’s 12. Turnovers proved to be Hampton’s fatal flaw, as its -15 turnover differential prevented it from getting anything going.
Stony Brook’s defense made life easy for goalkeeper Jamison MacLachlan, who saved nine of the 12 shots he faced.
The +16 goal differential was Stony Brook’s best since it beat Binghamton 22-8 on April 16, 2021.
Stony Brook will get a whole week to prepare for its next matchup. On Saturday, the Seawolves will take on the Monmouth Hawks in New Jersey. Monmouth is 4-3 and 0-1 in conference play on the season. The Hawks are still looking for their first win in the CAA and are coming off a 10-6 loss to No. 10/9 Villanova on Saturday.
