In the battle between twin goalkeepers, both sides walked away with a neutral result.
Wrapping up the nonconference portion of their schedule, the Seawolves (2-1-2) engaged in a 2-2 draw with the Fordham Rams (2-1-1) on Thursday night at Jack Coffey Field. After falling behind 2-0, Stony Brook’s high-flying offense rallied to knot the score up and bail the team out of a loss.
Fordham delivered the first punch in the 19th minute when midfielder Lena Johnsen recovered a botched corner kick and passed it to the front of the box. The ball found Fordham forward Riley Carroll, who tapped it past goalkeeper Nicolette Pasquarella to put her team up 1-0. Just over two minutes later, the Rams marched back down to Stony Brook’s box, where defender Catharina von Drigalski committed a penalty. From the penalty spot, Fordham forward Caroline Monahan stepped in and calmly put the ball into the right side of the net, extending the Rams’ lead to 2-0.
However, a costly blunder in the 38th minute put Stony Brook right back in the thick of things. Fordham goalkeeper Kyla King attempted a clearance, but the ball ricocheted off forward Graceann Murphy’s back and rolled into the vacated net to halve Stony Brook’s deficit.
The score remained 2-1 going into halftime, but things changed coming out of the break. Goalkeeper Ava King was substituted in for Pasquarella at halftime, putting her on the opposite side of her twin sister Kyla.
Even though defender Kerry Pearson missed a potential score in the 59th minute, she redeemed herself with the equalizer two minutes later. Von Drigalski found Pearson with a perfect cross from the corner, allowing her to carefully head it into the back of the net to tie the match.
The Seawolves struggled to get any quality chances over the final 30 minutes, as they only took three shots — two of which were wide of the net. The story was the same for the Rams, as Ava King shut them out in the second half and saved their only two shots on goal. Neither team broke the ice after that, leading to the draw.
Stony Brook had 14 shots altogether and landed nine on target. Fordham shot the ball 15 times and totaled seven on goal. Murphy, Pearson and forward Ashley Bell each recorded two shots on goal. Von Drigalski and forwards Luciana Setteducate and Gabrielle Côté each finished with a shot on goal. Von Drigalski also picked up her first point of the year with the assist on Pearson’s goal.
Murphy’s goal was the first of her Stony Brook career and her fourth in the NCAA. She had not scored since Sept. 16, 2021, when she scored a goal against Delaware State as a member of the Iona Gaels. Pearson’s goal was also the fourth of her career and her first since Sept. 19, 2021 against Albany.
Ava King posted her second consecutive clean sheet, giving her 90 scoreless minutes this year for the Seawolves. Her twin sister allowed two goals but racked up seven saves for Fordham, allowing her team to salvage the draw.
Head coach Tobias Bischof did not speak after the match.
The Seawolves will return to Kenneth P. LaValle Stadium on Thursday to open up conference play against the Campbell Fighting Camels. Campbell is 1-2-1 on the year after losing 1-0 to East Carolina. The Fighting Camels will face Davidson on Sunday before making their way to Stony Brook. Opening kickoff is scheduled for 6 p.m.
