In a neck-and-neck affair to begin its year, the Stony Brook men’s lacrosse team immediately got on the win column at the expense of a ranked opponent.
The Seawolves (1-0) beat the No. 20 Rutgers Scarlet Knights (2-1) in a tight showdown on Saturday in New Jersey. After a slow start, Stony Brook fully locked in, and, with the help of an excellent third period, won 9-8.
Despite conceding the game’s first four goals, the Seawolves were able to be within striking range at the start of the second half thanks to a combination of suffocating defense, efficient shot conversion and stellar goaltender play from Jamison MacLachlan, who got the call between the pipes over goaltender Tommy Wilk for the season opener.
However, Stony Brook got off on the wrong foot in the third frame, with FOGO Robbie Smith losing the half’s opening face-off, leading to a goal by Rutgers midfielder Kasey Mongillo. The score handed the Scarlet Knights a 7-4 lead as they looked for a third consecutive win to start their campaign.
Nonetheless, the Seawolves, who faced a relatively large deficit for the second time in their season opener, responded again. They outscored Rutgers 5-0 for the remainder of the period. On one end, the visitors let off an overwhelming 13 shots in the frame, including seven that landed on the cage. On the other side, MacLachlan stuffed three Scarlet Knights shots after conceding Mongillo’s tally and even caused a turnover.
With a first loss looming, Rutgers began another frame on the right note, scoring a goal on its second attacking set of the fourth period. From there, both teams displayed nerves on the offensive end, committing cheap giveaways and failing to generate solid scoring opportunities.
The lack of threat set the stage for an exciting finish. With 1:30 remaining in the affair, the Scarlet Knights held possession and began an attacking set following a timeout. After 22 seconds of not being able to penetrate Stony Brook’s endline, Mongillo attempted to push forward by force but ran into three Seawolves defenders. Defenseman Riley Hegarty — a Stony Brook veteran — forced the ball out, causing a crucial turnover that allowed the Seawolves to stall en route to a huge victory.
“I am really proud of the guys,” head coach Anthony Gilardi said in a postgame interview with Stony Brook Athletics. “They earned the right to win with their prep during the week, and when it came down to it, they didn’t flinch when we got down 4-0 quick. They stuck to the plan, stuck together, and earned a hard-fought win against a really good team.”
Stony Brook outshot Rutgers 42 (21 shots on goal) to 31 (21 shots on goal).
The Seawolves won the ground ball (33-26) and face-off (12-9) battles.
MacLachlan finished with 13 saves for a .619 save percentage. Conversely, Rutgers goaltender Cardin Stoller made 12 stops for a .571 save percentage.
Attackman Carson Boyle led Stony Brook in scoring with a hat trick. Mongillo did the same for his team to spearhead the Scarlet Knights’ offensive effort.
The Seawolves will look to bring their momentum to their next matchup against the No. 16 North Carolina Tar Heels in Chapel Hill. The Tar Heels also won their first contest of the season, taking down No. 15 Michigan 15-6. Opening face-off is scheduled for 6 p.m.
