In its final home, non-conference game of the season, the No. 22 Stony Brook women’s lacrosse team destroyed a northeast competitor.
In a long-awaited return to their home turf of Kenneth P. LaValle Stadium after a week and a half away, the Seawolves (7-3, 2-0 CAA) took on the Vermont Catamounts (4-7, 0-3 AE) on Wednesday. In a wire-to-wire domination that featured Stony Brook scoring 16 of the contest’s first 18 goals, it defeated its America East rivals 20-5.
“Going on a long stretch of away games, especially all the way out to Colorado and then flying to Philly after that, definitely can take a toll,” defender Avery Hines said in a postgame interview with The Statesman. “I think we’re doing our best to uphold the characteristics of Stony Brook women’s lacrosse while we’re away. It’s always nice to come home and be able to say, ‘This is our field,’ and put a stamp on it. You’re here and you’re going to face us and this is who we are while we’re here. It feels good to come together and be on our own.”
From the opening draw, it was clear that the Seawolves’ mission was to play with a high tempo. Stony Brook controlled the affair’s opening three draws, leading directly to a pair of goals and indirectly to a score just over three minutes in. For a second straight game, midfielder Braeden Siverson was the Seawolves’ premier weapon in that department, controlling six draws total on Wednesday.
“[The draw control unit] has been a point of emphasis, so kudos to our coaches,” head coach Joe Spallina said. “It’s an area that I don’t really mess with much. My expertise is not appreciated with the draw unit, but Coach [Sydney] Pirreca and Charlotte [Verhulst] do a really great job putting time into that group. That’s an area we’ve significantly improved. I thought [Siverson] did a really good job. It’s now two games in a row where she’s provided us some stability there. She’s adapting and getting a little bit more confidence in her circle of people and just our ability to be able to put the ball where it needs to be. If we can take a cross or a score and get the ball right back, our offense is able to feed off that energy by getting extra possessions.”
Overall, Stony Brook controlled seven of the first period’s nine draws. However, it also turned the ball over six times to the Catamounts’ five, giving its opponents a slimmer of hope. After the opening frame, the Seawolves led 6-2.
Unlike the first, the second quarter was completely dominated by the hosts. Attacker Charlotte Wilmoth — Stony Brook’s leading scorer — found the back of the net at will in the period, scoring four goals — including one free position score. Attacker Riley McDonald and midfielder Alexandra Fusco also scored from the spot, while attacker Casey Colbert got in on the fun, adding up to seven Seawolves scores in the frame. Colbert also dished out a pair of assists during these 15 minutes.
“I think one thing that we really focused on offensively was just connecting with everybody,” McDonald said. “I think one thing that I personally love about our offense is just the unselfish play. I think we always have a lot of assisted goals, so you’re getting a point for the goal and the assist, and it’s really fun to play because everybody is just super involved and connected, and I think our chemistry is starting to peak at the right time. We’re just going to always keep working on that going into the rest of the season.”
On the other end, Stony Brook displayed lockdown defense, completely shutting down Vermont in the second quarter. The Catamounts gave the ball away four times in the period, while any of their attempts proved futile, as they could not convert either of their two free position attempts of the frame, one of which was saved by goalkeeper Natalie Altebrando.
With a 13-2 lead at halftime, the Seawolves were on cruise control for the second half, though they still managed to outscore Vermont in each of the remaining two quarters with their entire roster receiving playing time.
“Great performance by our team today,” Spallina said. “We talked about getting off to a good start. We did that. We’ve been on the road for a long time, so I think we felt the energy of the stadium and being home. It was a great day for us as coaches as well, being able to play our entire bench. All of our players got a good amount of playing time and contributions were pretty spread out. We’re happy with today’s result and the way we’ve been able to jump out and take care of business and play at a high level.”
Stony Brook outshot the Catamounts 33 (25 shots on goal) to 13 (11 shots on goal).
The Seawolves were +1 (14-13) on the turnover differential and won the ground ball (11-7) and draw control (21-8) battles. Wednesday was Stony Brook’s draw unit’s best showing of the season thus far.
Wilmoth led the Seawolves in scoring with five goals. McDonald and midfielder Isabella Caporuscio added a hat trick apiece. Colbert — as usual — was Stony Brook’s primary facilitator, registering three assists.
Hines caused five turnovers and scooped up four ground balls. With the former, she broke 100 in that stat, becoming the fifth player in program history to do so.
Each team featured three goalkeepers. The Seawolves’ trio of Altebrando and goalkeepers Francesca Viteritti and Hannah Hudson combined for six saves for a .545 save percentage. Conversely, Vermont’s trio of goalkeepers — Anna Rosenberger, Carley Vernon and Ayla Shea — combined for five stops, culminating in a rough .200 save percentage.
The Catamounts did not have a player score more than a goal. Vermont attacker Maddie Erskine led her team in points with three, made up of a score and two assists.
Stony Brook will be back at LaValle Stadium on Sunday for a Coastal Athletic Association matchup. Then, it will host the William & Mary Tribe, who are currently 5-5 overall and 1-2 in conference play following a 17-11 victory over Monmouth. Opening draw is scheduled for noon.
