After being shutout for two straight matches, the Stony Brook women’s soccer team bounced back with a five-goal offensive outburst.
With a winless road trip behind them, the Seawolves (3-2-1) returned home to host the Le Moyne Dolphins (1-6) on Monday afternoon at Kenneth P. LaValle Stadium. Stony Brook’s offense and defense were in lockstep from start to finish en route to a 5-0 victory.
The Seawolves’ offense pressured the Dolphins from the start, as they earned a corner kick in the eighth minute. A well-placed cross from defender Sammy Hannwacker found forward Reilly Rich in the six-yard box. Rich sent the ball into the back of the net with a strong header to break Stony Brook’s 224-minute goal drought and put it up 1-0.
It did not take long for the Seawolves to get back on the board, as a pass from midfielder Linn Beck set up forward Luciana Setteducate with a clear path to the goal in the 19th minute. Setteducate rifled a shot past Le Moyne goalkeeper Mikayla McPheron and into the bottom right corner of the net to double the team’s lead.
In the second half, Beck got in on the action. During the 59th minute, Setteducate drew McPheron in and passed the ball off to Beck on the opposite side of the goal, where she effortlessly tapped it in for Stony Brook’s third goal of the day.
Shortly after, Rich notched a brace in the 66th minute before forward Hannah Maracina capped off the game with her first goal of the season in the 77th minute.
“We didn’t really make a lot of changes,” head coach Tobias Bischof said in a postgame interview with The Statesman. “We still had chances against La Salle and we had our chances against Yale, we just did not take advantage of our chances. The team stuck with our game plan and at the end of the day, we got our output. Scoring five goals is a beautiful thing.”
While the offense took control of almost every minute of the game, Stony Brook’s defense put on a masterful performance of its own by only allowing one shot on goal and three shots total.
“They all did their role,” Bischof said. “They stayed focused and organized defensively, and therefore, we didn’t really give up any chances. They gave up one shot but in a 90-minute game, I’ll take that.”
The Seawolves tallied a total of 35 shots (21 shots on goal) and outshot Le Moyne by 32. Stony Brook also dominated in corner kicks, taking 13 to the Dolphins’ zero.
Rich was the headliner for the offense against Le Moyne, as she scored her first two goals of the season and recorded her first assist. Rich also led the team in shots (six) and shots on goal (five).
“It has been a long time coming,” Rich said. “A year ago, I got injured and this is the first goal coming back from that injury. I know the first goal would be the toughest to get but now, hopefully the floodgates are open.”
Beck was not far behind her teammate’s totals. She tallied three shots with a goal and an assist. Setteducate also left her mark on the scorecard with a goal, two assists and four shots on goal.
For their next contest, the Seawolves will travel north to take on the University of Massachusetts Lowell River Hawks (1-3-2) in Lowell, Mass. on Thursday. The River Hawks are winless in their last four tries and are coming off a 1-1 draw against Central Connecticut State University. Opening kickoff is scheduled for 5 p.m.
