Behind a dominant first half and six goals from midfielder Ellie Masera, the No. 6 Stony Brook women’s lacrosse team racked up its second-straight win over a conference opponent.
In a dismantling of the Elon Phoenix on Saturday, the Seawolves (6-2, 2-0 CAA) picked up their first-ever road win in the Colonial Athletic Association (CAA). Stony Brook led by 12 goals at halftime en route to a 17-5 win.
The Seawolves flexed their muscles early on Elon’s turf. They secured the first three draw controls and turned those possessions into goals. Attacker Jolie Creo struck first before Masera followed her with two more goals. Stony Brook kept its foot on the gas, scoring four more times in the first quarter.
The Seawolves only allowed Elon to take two shots in the first quarter, both of which were saved by goalkeeper Hailey Duchnowski.
The blowout continued into the second quarter, where Stony Brook extended its lead to 12-0. Elon finally broke the shutout when midfielder Anna Hackett scored with 91 seconds to play before halftime. Midfielder Alexandra Fusco answered with a buzzer-beater goal with just two seconds remaining, giving her team a 13-1 lead by the break.
Head coach Joe Spallina was pleased with the way his team handled business at Elon.
“The team stepped up and played inspired,” Spallina said in a postgame interview with Stony Brook Athletics. “It’s always good to get up early and we were very happy with the way our entire roster played. It started with the draw, that was the difference today.”
The Seawolves made life difficult for Elon goalkeeper Caitlin Walsh, who allowed 13 goals and faced 21 shots on cage in the first half.
Conversely, life was easy for Duchnowski. After attacker Morgan Mitchell put Stony Brook up 10-0 with her second goal of the day, Spallina pulled Duchnowski. She was replaced by backup goalkeeper Aaliyah Jones, who recorded a career-high five saves in eight opportunities.
The Seawolves slowed down in the second half, but the game was all but over. Spallina emptied most of the bench and both teams scored four goals apiece after halftime. Midfielder Payton Bloedow finished the game’s scoring with the first goal of her NCAA career.
During the second half, attacker Kailyn Hart reached a hat trick with her third goal of the game. Hart also dished out four assists, giving herself a team-leading seven points for the game. She is now up to 17 assists this year, which is already a new career high.
Stony Brook’s shooting was as accurate as it has been all year on Saturday, recording a season-high 85.7% (30-for-35) shots on goal percentage. The team also shared the ball generously against the Phoenix, putting up 11 assists.
Masera bounced back from a scoreless performance with six goals on eight shots. All of her shots landed on goal.
Mitchell tallied a pair of goals and assists. Creo finished with three assists and one goal. Midfielders Jaden Hampel and Charlotte Verhulst and attacker Casey Colbert all added one goal each. Midfielder Lexie Correia also contributed to the scoreboard with an assist in the fourth quarter.
Defender Clare Levy scored her first point of the year by assisting Masera’s sixth goal of the game. She also recorded one ground ball, one caused turnover and three draw controls.
Stony Brook outshot Elon 35-16 and had 17 more shots on goal. The Seawolves dominated possession, controlling 17 of the 24 draws and committing one less turnover than the Phoenix. They also picked up two more ground balls, besting Elon 14-12 in that area.
For the first time all year, Stony Brook will face its second-straight unranked opponent. On Wednesday, the team will face the Johns Hopkins Blue Jays in Maryland for its penultimate nonconference game. The Blue Jays are 4-5 on the year and are coming off a 19-5 blowout loss to No. 2 Northwestern. The game will begin at 1 p.m.
