A beautiful, sunny day on Long Island turned into a chilly night as Stony Brook lacrosse battled local rival Hofstra at Kenneth P. LaValle Stadium on Tuesday.
At 3:00 pm the sound system in the stadium started up. Eminem, Linkin Park, the generic stadium ‘pump-up’ anthems could be heard across the academic mall, the sounds reverberating off the buildings.
A crowd of 800 showed up to watch the women’s team play Hofstra in the first game of a double header. The men’s teams squared off later in the evening. The number of people in the stands was supplemented by a huge tailgating contingent, setting up tents and barbeques and drinking beers while enjoying the gorgeous weather. Groups of kids brought out their own lacrosse sticks, throwing balls back and forth, dodging the traffic of unsuspecting Stony Brook students leaving the Stadium parking lot for the day.
The large Madison Square Garden Network production trucks set up shop in the south end of the parking lot. The area between LaValle Stadium and the University Arena had stands set up for Brine, a company that manufactures lacrosse equipment. 102.3 WBAB had a van parked nearby, encouraging students to come pick up free gifts and participate in games. The New York Islanders set up an inflatable structure for kids to jump around in.
The women’s game was a back and forth affair that saw Stony Brook come out on top 14-9. Senior Diana Caroleo scored back-to-back with the score tied at nine to give the Seawolves a lead they would not relinquish.
The main event of the evening featured the men’s teams. Hofstra came into the game ranked #20 in the nation. Stony Brook dropped out of the national rankings after a few poor showings, but still held a spot in the America East Tournament.
After the singing of the national anthem the crowd began to build up anticipation. A low murmur transformed into a steady wall of noise as the teams came together for the opening face off.
1:41 into the first quarter Bobby Trenkle emerged from behind the Hofstra net with a strong offensive more. As he got in front, he fired a shot that beat the goaltender, and caused the crowd to erupt with emotion. This was a live crowd, and all of the announced 5,723 fans stood on their feet and rooted for their team.
Leading on the frenzy was Seawolve’s basketball center Emanuel Neto. Stomping around the stadium without his shirt, his entire upper body painted red, Neto was the epitome of the school spirit. ‘We need some more spirit from up there!’ he screamed, pointing towards the upper deck. ‘It’s all right, but we need more, like this!’ and he then violently pounded his chest and walked away.
The rest of the first half went back and forth, and ended in a 6-6 tie. During half time the school honored the 2007 America East Women’s track team. As soon as the ceremony was over and the team left the field, the Seawolve’s faithful started their signature barking chant. This went on for a few minutes as the teams made their way out of the locker room and onto the field. The team responded with two quick goals to jump ahead 8-6. The teams exchanged goals the rest of the quarter and going into the fourth the game was tied once again.
The SB cheerleaders continued running up and down the bleachers, tossing souvenir t-shirts into the crowd during the elongated media time outs. The packed visitors seats became nearly as loud as the home side. The nervous tension on the Stony Brook side ratcheted up with each Hofstra goal, all the way to 14-11.
As the clock ticked down for Stony Brook, Freshman Jordan McBride ripped a shot past the Hofstra goalie, leaving the team down two with 9:55 remaining.
Hofstra spent the rest of the fourth quarter attempting to keep control of the ball and run down the clock. Bo Tripodi cut the deficit to one with 1:35 left, and the Stony Brook contingent once again stood and tried to will on their team. The Seawolves sent the crowd into a frenzy 20 seconds later when Nick Maturro leveled a Hofstra player across the middle and jarred the ball loose. As the crowd roared with approval, the referee quickly killed the atmosphere by calling an illegal body check penalty. The Seawolves went a man down and Hofstra was able to run out the remainder of the clock and sneak out of LaValle Stadium with a victory.
The magnitude of the game wasn’t lost on its participants after the game. ‘Stony Brook put on a hell of a show, from facilities, all the way though’ Hofstra Head Coach Seth Tierney said after the game. ‘Stony Brook is one hell of a team. The fans were treated to a great lacrosse game.’
Although he was disappointed with the outcome, Coach Sowell was proud of his team’s never say die effort. He also realized the importance of the game to the campus. ‘From the fans standpoint it must have been an exciting game.’
For one day, the campus got a taste of what it feels like to host a meaningful D-1 game. And after the loss, as the record crowd slowly filtered out of LaValle Stadium, perhaps they felt proud to be part of Seawolves Nation.
