On a dreary day at a nearly empty Kenneth P. LaValle Stadium, the only problem that the Stony Brook Women’s Lacrosse team faced was a delayed start due to the referees being late. In every other department, the Seawolves were firing on all cylinders in their dominant 12-1 victory over UMBC.
Getting off to a good start in America East play, Stony Brook left no doubt that they were the favorites in the conference on Saturday afternoon. UMBC did a solid job keeping arguably the two best players on the Seawolves, freshman Dorrien Van Dyke and senior Michelle Rubino, out of the action. That did not complicate much for the Seawolves, who moved to 8-2 on the season.
Leading the way for Stony Brook wasn’t a single player, or their offense in general, but their energy. From the very first face-off, it looked like nobody would stop coach Joe Spallina’s team. On both sides of the ball, everybody was swarming the Retrievers as if the rain was not coming down.
UMBC had a mere six shots, while Stony Brook scored 12 goals. It is hard to lose a game when your defense does not give the other team a chance to even put the ball on the net. When they did, star goalkeeper senior Frankie Caridi did her job, only allowing one goal on the four shots on goal that the Retrievers managed.
Amber Kupres and freshman Kristin Yevoli, who are more known for being amongst the team leaders in ground ball pickups and draw controls, both had three goals in the win.
Van Dyke, who is now tied for fourth in the nation in goals scored managed to tally three goals herself, even with the UMBC defense concentrating on shutting her down.
Coach Spallina was very happy with the all around effort for the Seawolves in their conference opener, praising the energy that everybody showed. “Our kids came out with a lot of energy and with the way we play and the style of lacrosse we play we’re able to bring that. It’s unmatched energy, we’re going to be a tough team to play.”
However well the team played, there is always more to work on, as coach Spallina said, “I’m happy with the way we played but I would never tell them I’m satisfied.”
