For the first time ever, the Stony Brook women’s lacrosse team left Baltimore, Maryland victorious after defeating UMBC. The Seawolves (11-2, 3-0 AE) won their sixth straight game, by six points, with a final score of 15-9.
With only 49 seconds of play, senior attack Janine Hillier and sophomore midfielder Amber Kupres put Stony Brook up by two. The Seawolves held onto a six-point lead in the first half, allowing UMBC to only score three, making it 9-3.
Senior midfielder Demmianne Cook scored a hat trick in the first half and had two assists. She is the nation’s leading goal scorer and is now six goals away from tying her own single-season program record of 68 goals. Junior goalkeeper Frankie Caridi made three saves.
The Seawolves continued to fight in the second half. Hillier put two more in the net, and senior midfielder Kaitlyn Harrison added one just before UMBC’s sophomore midfielder Alyssa Semones took one back making the score 12-5. After receiving two yellow cards, Cook had to sit out for the remaining 17:59 of play.
But the Retrievers never gave up. With 12:51 left, Caridi saved a shot by UMBC’s freshman attack Sam Nolan right before Stony Brook turned it over. UMBC fired back as sophomore attack Abby Wilson scored off of an assist from junior midfielder Shannon Harkey, bringing her team within six, 14-8. Harkey scored one of her own on a free position shot, cutting Stony Brook’s lead to five, 14-9, with 8:10 left.
After that, the Seawolves sealed the deal. Sophomore midfielder Michelle Rubino controlled a draw and later scored a goal that increased the lead back to six, 15-9. Harkey was given another free position shot to close the gap, but Caridi denied it, finishing the game with six saves. She played a great role in helping her team hold an opponent to single-digits for the 12th time this season.
Stony Brook outshot UMBC, 23-22. Hillier led the Seawolves with four goals and one assist. Kupres finished with three goals, and Cook finished with three as well, plus two assists. Rubino scored two goals with one assist, and senior attack Claire Petersen had one apiece.
Harkey added three goals and two assists for UMBC.
With one win shy of matching its longest win streak in school history (seven in 2007), the Seawolves will next take on New Hampshire, away, on Saturday, April 13 at 12 p.m.
