The #18 Stony Brook Seawolves Men’s Lacrosse team hit a stumbling block on Saturday at LaValle Stadium, with a crushing 14-5 loss to their rival at #2 the Albany Great Danes. Albany scored the first goal 35 seconds into the game, and never let SB get close. 2,609 people attended the game, including a large contingent from Albany, with about half the stands dressed in their purple and gold colors, and chanting ‘Albany, Albany!’ with every goal. The loss moved SB to 5-2, 1-1 conference, while Albany stayed a perfect 9-0, 2-0.
In the first quarter, Albany got out to a 3-0 lead, following 3 unassisted goals from 3 different players.
‘ In the second, Albany started to run away, outscoring SB 5-2. SB got on the board with a goal from Bo Tripodi. The Great Danes answered with a 5-0 run. During the run, Albany’s goalie, Brett Queener picked up an assist, a rarity for a goalie. With :16 left, Larry Cerasi got SB their second goal of the game, to go into halftime down 8-2.
In the third, the game got ugly, with some scuffling between the two teams, which appeared to be instigated by Albany. During that quarter, Albany’s Queener got a 1:30 penalty for holding and unsportsmanlike conduct. He would not return to the game. Later in the quarter, another incident resulted in Albany’s Mike Ammann getting 2 minutes for unsportsmanlike conduct and unnecessary roughness, and SB’s Jason Joiner getting 1 minute for unsportsmanlike conduct. 6 of Albany’s 7 penalties came in that quarter, and all involved pushing and shoving in some way or another. In terms of scoring, this was the closest quarter of the game, with Albany outscoring SB only 3-2.
In the fourth, Albany drove the last nails into the Seawolves’ coffin, outscoring them by 3-1. SB’s only goal was from junior attacker, Michael Trojanowski.
The first thing SB Head Coach Rick Sowell said in the post-game press conference was, ‘You guys ever got your butt kicked before? You know how it feels?’ He called Albany ‘well coached,’ and added that they were ‘playing with purpose.’
Albany’s offense dominated the entire game. They took 49 shots to SB’s 31, and won 14 of the 22 face-offs. Frank Resetarits led the way for them, with 5 goals and 2 assists. Merrick Thompson had 4 goals and 1 assist.
For SB, Robert Trenkle, with 1 goal and 1 assist, was the only player with more than 1 point.
SB failed to capitalize on some of their opportunities, scoring 1 goal in 6 extra man opportunities, where Albany went 2 for 4. They also struggled on defense, with goalie Brendan Callahan beaten up all day, with 14 goals against, and only 10 saves, before freshman Rob Camposa replaced him with 4:29 to play. He had no saves or goals against him.
