Similar to the game against No. 2 Duke a couple of weeks back, Stony Brook Men’s Lacrosse fell behind early.
On Saturday afternoon, they fought again in a major way, outplaying the top-ranked Maryland Terrapins in the second half, only to fall short in an 11-8 loss at Kenneth P. LaValle Stadium.
Right away, Maryland’s pressure-filled defense looked like it would be tough to expose, forcing Stony Brook players to move the ball quickly and efficiently to avoid turnovers.
After Maryland’s Mike Chanenchuk got on the board to open the scoring in the first quarter, the Seawolves showed that they wouldn’t simply lay down and let the Terrapins walk all over them.
Junior Mike Andreassi leveled things at one goal apiece with 9:53 left in the quarter, answering the best team in the country’s first message of the day.
Maryland’s second message of the day came loudly and clearly in a 7-1 run to end the first half. From 9:26 of the first quarter until 5:39 of the second, the Terrapins exploded, led by attack man Tim Rotanz, who scored two goals in a span of 17 seconds to punctuate the run.
Outscoring Maryland 6-3 in the second half, the Seawolves got to within two goals of the best team in the country, showing the potential they have down the road, especially when America East play starts at the end of the month.
Team leader in goals sophomore Brody Eastwood got the momentum going for the Seawolves early on in the third quarter, scoring at 11:15 to set the tone for the rest of the game. =
Sophomore Matt Schultz scored twice as part of a 4-0 run for Stony Brook to start the fourth quarter, at 12:06 and 8:24 respectively.
Schultz, a local Long Islander said, “I feel like the momentum shifted our way once we started sharing the ball and then kept moving, and pretty much just played our offense.”
The Seawolves got to within two goals after Schultz’s second of the day at 9-7, but would get no closer.
Although it goes into the standings as a loss at the end of the day, playing the top team in the nation as tough as the Seawolves did bodes well for the rest of the season, as conference play comes closer and closer.
Coach Nagle said, “We took a step again today in believing that we can run with that team,” mentioning that, “our main goal is the America East, as always.”
Maryland coach John Tillman was impressed with the fight that Stony Brook showed against his Terrapins.
The fourth-year coach said, “We were not surprised that this was going to be a tough dog fight,” adding that, “Stony Brook is one of those teams that presents a lot of challenges, so to come up here and get a win is really important for us.”
Maryland now leads the all-time matchup between the two teams 3-0.
Stony Brook is back in action at Kenneth P. LaValle Stadium on Tuesday night at 6 p.m. against
Then on Saturday the Seawolves will head up to Connecticut to take on Fairfeld. That matchup will begin at 1 p.m.
