Capping off its road trip to the Carolinas, the Stony Brook women’s soccer team only secured one point as its playoff hopes continued to slip away.
Battling for a spot in the top six of the Coastal Athletic Association (CAA) table, the Seawolves (4-5-5, 2-4-3 CAA) drew with the Charleston Cougars (2-8-4, 2-4-3 CAA) down in South Carolina on Sunday. With both teams tied at seventh place and just three points shy of the final playoff spot, neither moved up the ladder after engaging in a 1-1 draw.
After a scoreless first half against Charleston goalkeeper Savannah Barron, the Seawolves scored the match’s first goal in the 49th minute off backup goalkeeper Bailey Wood. Forward Gabrielle Côté squared the ball to midfielder Linn Beck, who heaved a shot from between midfield and the 18-yard box. Beck’s audacious effort from around 30 yards out hammered into the bottom left corner to give Stony Brook a 1-0 lead.
Charleston responded in the 73rd minute after midfielder Shea Vidovic beat midfielder Gabby Daniels with her dribble and sent a cross into the far post. Charleston forward Delaney Dawes tapped the precise cross into the back of the net for the equalizer.
During the final five minutes of the match, the Cougars had a couple of dangerous opportunities that required the Seawolves’ backline to clear the ball from their own box. Coming off those clearances, a few chances for counter-attacks opened up for Stony Brook, but none of them resulted in a goal.
Luckily for the Seawolves, nobody competing for the sixth seed made any progress on Sunday. Delaware — who was in a three-way tie with Stony Brook and Charleston for seventh place — drew 1-1 with Campbell. University of North Carolina Wilmington (UNCW) — who is in sixth place with 11 points — lost 3-0 to Towson.
The Blue Hens still own a better overall record than the Seawolves, while the Seahawks own the head-to-head tiebreaker over them. In order for Stony Brook to earn the sixth seed, it will have to pick up more points over the final three matches than both Delaware and UNCW, which will likely have to come by winning out.
The Seawolves continued to miss their leading scorer, as forward Reilly Rich missed her second consecutive game with a leg injury. They were outshot 16-11 and landed only three shots on target to Charleston’s eight.
Beck, Côté and defender Aneta Sovakova tallied their only shots on goal. Overall, Beck led the team with three shots, while Côté and forward Ashley Bell each took two. Côté’s assist was her first of the season.
Goalkeeper Nicolette Pasquarella had yet another stellar performance in net, making seven saves. It was her third performance this year with at least seven stops. Barron and Wood each recorded one save.
Stony Brook will return to Kenneth P. LaValle Stadium on Thursday as it takes on the Drexel Dragons. Opening kickoff is scheduled for 6:31 p.m. The Dragons are 5-7-3 overall and 1-5-3 in conference play. They are currently sitting in eleventh place on the conference table. Drexel is winless in its last three matches and is coming off a 1-1 draw against Elon on Sunday.
