With its third conference one-goal defeat, the Stony Brook men’s lacrosse can no longer compete for the Coastal Athletic Association (CAA) crown.
On Saturday, the Seawolves (6-7, 2-4 CAA) — in do-or-die territory — took on the Drexel Dragons in Philadelphia, Pa. Despite leading for most of the game, Stony Brook was never able to shake its opponents, which eventually came back to bite it in a 15-14 loss.
The four teams — Towson, Fairfield, Hofstra and Drexel — set to compete in the 2025 CAA Championship are now set, with the Seawolves missing out for a second straight year.
Entering the final period of regulation, the score was tied at 11. Throughout the first three frames, attackman Justin Bonacci had the hot hand for Stony Brook, scoring five goals. On the other end, Drexel had a host of scorers to keep up with the Seawolves. Attackmen Witt Crawford (three) and Owen Knight (two) led the way for the hosts, while six other players tallied one goal apiece.
In the fourth quarter, the Dragons struck first off a goal from midfielder Jack Joyner, which was assisted by Gavin Kelly. After the possession exchanged hands a few times, Drexel was able to string together another goal to assume control of the contest.
Down by two with their season on the balance, the Seawolves needed a spark, and got just that. Midfielder Gary Correa was the first to step up, tallying a score to cut Stony Brook’s deficit in half. On the ensuing face-off, FOGO Robbie Smith suffered a rare defeat, but the Dragons turned the ball over.
The Seawolves capitalized fully on Drexel’s mishap, with midfielder Caleb Yeung sinking in another shot to tie things up. Following a face-off win from Smith, Stony Brook took the lead back. In the right alley, midfielder Tanner Williams received the ball with room to work. He started his move toward the cage, looked left and found Correa through a tight window. While a collapsing Dragons’ defense might have made things difficult for Correa, he was still able to rifle a shot into the back of the net for the go-ahead goal with 6:29 left to play.
Following Correa’s second score in quick succession, Drexel instantly took a timeout in an attempt to put together another moment of momentum in its favor. The stoppage seemingly worked out for the Dragons, who gained possession on the face-off and scored on their subsequent attacking set, courtesy of Joyner.
Drexel managed to earn another possession a minute later, and brought the ball into its offensive end as the clock fell below four minutes remaining. Joyner was once again trusted with the rock, and he worked in the right alley and passed the ball across the field to attackman Conor Hooley. With no Seawolves defender close enough to interrupt the shot, Hooley sent the ball hard, low and into the back of the net past goaltender Jamison MacLachlan for what ended up being the game-winning goal.
Stony Brook was outshot by the Dragons 44 (22 shots on goal) to 39 (22 shots on goal).
MacLachlan had a tough day in the office, allowing 15 goals while only making seven saves for a season-low .318 save percentage. Drexel goaltender Brendan Donnelly did not fare too much better, posting eight stops for a .364 mark.
The Seawolves had a clear advantage on Saturday at the face-off X, winning 20 of 32 (62.5%) tries between Smith (14-for-22) and FOGO Chris Esposito (6-for-10).
Bonacci led Stony Brook with the aforementioned five foals, while Yeung picked up his second career hat trick. Correa and midfielder Kian McCoy recorded two goals each. Williams and midfielder Ray O’Brien both scored once.
Crawford and Joyner led the way for the hosts offensively, with a hat trick apiece.
The Seawolves will conclude their regular season at Kenneth P. LaValle Stadium for Senior Day. They will host the winless Hampton Pirates, who have lost 56 consecutive contests. Opening face-off is set for 11 a.m. on Saturday.
