The No. 19/20 Stony Brook women’s lacrosse team continued to etch its name into the Coastal Athletic Association (CAA) record book, becoming the third program to capture three consecutive conference titles.
With the league crown and a 12th-straight NCAA Tournament berth at stake, the first-seeded Seawolves (15-4, 8-0 CAA) hosted the second-seeded No. 23 Drexel Dragons (14-4, 7-1 CAA) at Kenneth P. LaValle Stadium on Saturday for the 2025 CAA Championship title game. In a rematch of last year’s tournament final, Stony Brook once again emerged victorious — this time in higher-scoring, 12-10 fashion following a rollercoaster of a high-stakes match.
This win placed the Seawolves in the CAA’s exclusive three-peat club, joining Towson (2012-14) and James Madison (2017-19). Additionally, Stony Brook hoisted its 11th-consecutive conference championship trophy on Saturday — a streak that dates back to its America East era, excluding the tournament in which it was ineligible to compete.
As the cherry on top, the Seawolves have entered the single digits in their pursuit of 100 straight victories over league opponents — including playoffs — needing just nine more. Stony Brook holds the longest active winning streak over conference opponents across all NCAA Division I sports. Its last defeat to a league foe came in 2014 — an 8-7 overtime loss to Vermont.
“Our assistant coaches do an incredible job in bringing in the right players here,” head coach Joe Spallina said in a postgame press conference. “Players that fit. But there’s a belief. I get asked this all the time, ‘How do we do it?’ Because we don’t have five-star players out of high school. But they leave here as those players. For us, it’s tradition.”
An extra period was not out of the question on Saturday, as the first three frames featured five lead changes. However, entering the final quarter, the Seawolves had carved out a bit of breathing room, holding a 10-8 advantage.
Though the Dragons were the superior draw team through 45 minutes of play, Drexel struggled to match Stony Brook in nearly every other statistical category — except for one significant expectation. The Seawolves’ sharper, more disciplined style of play led to a 26-18 edge in shots, generating far more goalscoring opportunities. Yet unlike their dominant regular season victory over the Dragons, Stony Brook could not put the contest away early primarily due to the 2025 CAA Goalkeeper of the Year: Jenika Cuocco.
Cuocco — who became the first player in conference history to earn four individual awards over her career with the aforementioned accolade — was the biggest thorn on the Seawolves’ side once again in a big game, much like she was in the 2024 CAA Championship title clash. After stopping just three of the first eight shots that came her way, Cuocco adjusted and finished the afternoon by turning away 15 of Stony Brook’s final 22 attempts that landed on the cage, tying a career-high with 18 saves in the process.
Drexel’s star shined brightest in the fourth quarter, delivering when her team needed her most. Cuocco made three stops on the Seawolves’ first two attacking sets of the frame — both of which began with draw control wins by midfielder Braeden Siverson. With Stony Brook coming up empty each time and the Dragons capitalizing by scoring twice consecutively on the other end, the affair was tied at 10 apiece with just over 10 minutes remaining.
“I was concerned coming into the game because I thought we got the better of their goalie the first time, and she was guessing and we got to good spots,” Spallina said. “Today she was on fire. I mean, 18 saves in a women’s lacrosse game is absurd. Tip our cap to her, she proved why she’s a great goalie.”
With the Seawolves’ highest scorers stymied by Cuocco, an unexpected hero stepped up. Attackers Charlotte Wilmoth and Riley McDonald, alongside midfielder Isabella Caporuscio — Stony Brook’s three leading scorers, respectively — combined for 6-for-16 shooting efficiency on goal on Saturday. The .375 average among the trio was well below the Seawolves’ season mark of .631.
Instead of Stony Brook’s usual game-changers, it was midfielder Kylie Budke — a three-year Seawolf who has never started a contest for the team — who rose to the occasion and made a name for herself.
After Drexel evened the affair, both sides hit a scoring drought. Cuocco continued her stellar play in net — stuffing another three shots, including one on a free-position attempt by Caporuscio. However, the Dragons could not take further advantage, as they coughed up two possessions and failed to test goalkeeper Natalia Altebrando — who they had success against throughout the afternoon — with the chance to take the lead back late.
The paralleled dry spell set the stage for Budke. With under four minutes left to play, she found herself isolated on the left wing against Drexel defender Katie Maloney. Budke initiated the dodge, beat Maloney to the left and, while still on the run, executed a low-to-high fake, beating Cuocco and putting Stony Brook up 11-10.
After a Drexel timeout, the Seawolves won the all-important, ensuing draw — courtesy of Caporuscio — giving themselves the opportunity to burn clock and even double their advantage. In a near replica of her previous tally, Budke sealed the deal with a highlight-reel finish: squeezing past two defenders and firing a cross-body shot while falling.
“In the huddle before the last goal, [my teammates] were telling me, ‘You got it, you got it, it’s on you,’” Budke said. “I feel like the camaraderie that we have pushes me to be better every day.”
With 1:55 left on the clock after Budke’s second goal, Siverson secured her game-high ninth draw control — effectively sealing the victory for Stony Brook.
The Seawolves outshot the Dragons 37 (30 shots on goal) to 20 (15 shots on goal).
Stony Brook finished +9 (8-17) on the turnover differential and won the draw control (13-12) and ground ball (22-11) battles.
“No one believed in this group,” Spallina said. “People can say whatever they want, everybody thought Stony Brook was going to be different this year. And we weren’t.”
Wilmoth was the Seawolves’ top offensive performer, tallying a hat trick to go with a pair of assists.
“It’s a lot more fun when it’s tight instead of a big blowout,” Wilmoth said. “It makes the win mean so much more. All the hard days in the offseason just pay off. For me, this game is really special because in my undergraduate career [the University of Massachusetts Amherst] lost three conference championships in a row. So to finally get one means so much.”
On the defensive end, defender Avery Hines — who broke Stony Brook’s program record for career-caused turnovers in the semifinals — had another outstanding outing. She caused six giveaways on Saturday, also scooping up three ground balls.
“Coming into this game we were like, ‘They want it,’” Hines said. “But we’re number one. We’re the number one seed. We [have] to come up with that confidence. To play in such a competitive game, we were really focusing on less mistakes [and] bigger plays. They’re going to make big plays, their goalie had an amazing game. But our defense did one more play better.”
Drexel had multiple standout contributors attacking-wise. Attackers Kate Marano and Anna Maria Gragnani posted hat tricks, while attacker Bridget Finley scored once and dished out a game-high four assists. The Seawolves held attacker Allison Drake — the Dragons’ top scorer — to just one goal. It was only the fifth time out of 17 contests this year that she was unable to reach two scores in a single contest.
Cuocco’s .600 save percentage trumped Altebrando’s .333 mark, a figure derived from five saves.
Budke was named the 2025 CAA Tournament Most Outstanding Player. She was also part of the 2025 CAA All-Tournament Team, alongside Caporuscio and midfielders Allie Masera and Molly LaForge. Cuocco, Finley and Drexel defender Camryn Ryan represented the Dragons on the squad.
Stony Brook received the league’s automatic bid to the national tournament. Its First Round opponent will be revealed in the 2025 NCAA Tournament selection show, which is scheduled for Sunday at 9 p.m.
