It looks like Stony Brook men’s lacrosse is back on track.
Continuing its strong start in America East Conference play, Stony Brook defeated UMBC, 10-8, Saturday night. Stony Brook is now 3-0 in conference play after going 1-7 in out-of-conference play.
Red-shirt freshman Mike Rooney and senior Robbie Campbell led the way for the Seawolves, both scoring four goals each.
Stony Brook jumped out to a 3-0 lead early into the game. Campbell scored 1:15 in, and Rooney scored a man-up goal eight minutes later. Campbell scored again one minute later after Rooney’s goal.
UMBC’s Joe Lustgarten scored to get the Retrievers on the board at the 2:54 mark, but senior Russ Bonanno and Campbell both scored to give the Seawolves a 5-1 lead at the end of the first quarter.
Campbell and UMBC’s Scott Jones both scored in the second quarter to make the score 6-2 going into the half.
After sophomore Matt Bellando and Rooney scored the opening three goals of the second half to give Stony Brook a seven-goal lead, it appeared Stony Brook would coast to a win.
However, UMBC would storm back with five unanswered goals. After Jones scored with 32 seconds left in the third quarter, Conor Finch and Matt Gregoire scored goals four seconds apart to open up the fourth quarter.
Jones would score the next two goals to make the score 9-7 and bring the Retrievers to within two.
That was as far as UMBC would get. Rooney would score his fourth goal of the game at the 8:11 mark to end UMBC’s run.
Jones scored his fifth goal of the game with 2:23 left, but the game was over at that point.
“Rooney’s goal was huge,” head coach Jim Nagle said in a press release. “They really got rolling in the fourth quarter, but Mike’s goal stemmed the tide.”
Junior goalkeeper Sean Brady made 14 saves for Stony Brook.
Stony Brook will take a break from America East conference play, taking on Yale at LaValle Stadium Monday night, and resume conference play against Hartford on Saturday.
