Behind a complete team effort, the Stony Brook women’s soccer team continued its hot offensive start to the year to remain unbeaten.
The Seawolves (2-0-1) edged out the Fairleigh Dickinson University (FDU) Knights (0-1-1) at Kenneth P. LaValle Stadium on Thursday night. With goals from three different players, Stony Brook won 3-2 to pick up its second victory of the young season.
It was not all smooth sailing for the Seawolves, as they conceded an early goal for a second straight match. FDU struck in the sixth minute, as a well-placed through pass from defender Emma Moe found defender Ana Salas on the edge of the goalkeeper’s box. From the left side of the box, Salas tapped the ball past goalkeeper Nicolette Pasquarella to get the Knights on the board.
Only a minute later, forward Gabrielle Côté had a near-perfect opportunity to equalize the score. A crafty driven cross from forward Luciana Setteducate threaded the needle past FDU goalkeeper Rosemarie Leblanc, leaving only Côté and the goal. Despite the wide-open net, a heavy-footed touch sent the ball straight off the crossbar, leaving the score unchanged.
However, Côté soon got her redemption in the 16th minute, as Setteducate found her again on the counterattack. Côté — while 10 yards out from the goal — found herself one-on-one with Leblanc, who quickly rushed towards her. Waiting for the right moment, Côté launched a shot right over Leblanc to level the game at a goal apiece.
After a high-octane start to the contest, both defenses settled in for the remainder of the first half. Stony Brook’s offense cooled off and mustered up only one shot following Côté’s score.
On the other hand, the Knights had more opportunities to jump ahead once again, with their best chance coming in the 38th minute. After a Seawolves corner kick went awry, the ball found FDU forward Helena Lehr in the midfield, who quickly sprinted up the field. Surrounded by Stony Brook defenders on the right side of the field, Lehr lobbed an awkward shot that nearly landed in the net if not for Pasquarella climbing the ladder to tap it out.
Coming out of the half, the Seawolves were already in scoring position after earning a corner in the 48th minute. A line-drive cross from defender Sammy Hannwacker found midfielder Linn Beck amidst the traffic in the box. Beck received the cross, bounced and weaved the ball past FDU defenders and found forward Gabby Daniels, who tapped it past Leblanc to put Stony Brook ahead 2-1.
The Seawolves’ success off the corner kick continued soon after, as a deflected shot from forward Reilly Rich gave Stony Brook another set-piece opportunity just minutes later. In the 52nd minute, Setteducate received the ball from Hannwacker’s corner and sent it directly into Leblanc’s chest. However, Leblanc failed to corral the shot, letting it bounce off of her and in to make it 3-1.
With the game all but over, a poorly-timed mental error by the Seawolves kept the door open for FDU. In the 88th minute, forward Hannah Maracina was called for a handball off a corner that sent FDU midfielder Dominique Liberto to the penalty box, who converted to cut her team’s deficit to one goal.
However, the Knights’ break proved to be too little, too late, as they came up empty in the remaining two minutes to hand Stony Brook the win.
“It was a good performance by the whole team,” head coach Tobias Bischof said in a postgame interview with Stony Brook Athletics. “We had three different goal scorers and had three assists by defenders. We had the chance to give a couple other players a good amount of playing time today and that is important for us going forward. Congrats to the team for winning versus a good opponent.”
Côté — who was selected as the first Coastal Athletic Association Offensive Player of the Week of the year — continued her strong start to 2024 by tallying her third goal of the season.
Setteducate, Beck and Hannwacker — who had a pair — gave out the team’s assists.
Pasquarella pitched in another high-quality outing with five saves. Conversely, Leblanc made three stops.
The Seawolves will next face the La Salle Explorers on Sunday, Sep. 1 in Philadelphia. The Explores are 1-1-1 on the year after a 3-3 draw against James Madison. They will play Delaware this Sunday before hosting Stony Brook. Opening kickoff for the Seawolves’ affair is scheduled for 1 p.m.
