The Stony Brook men’s lacrosse team started its 2015 campaign on a gloomy, sometimes snowy day at Kenneth P. LaValle Stadium, as if the disappointment of a heartbreaking loss to Albany in the America East Semifinal last year followed them until now.
“It’s fuel for the fire,” junior attackman Challen Rogers said about the heartbreaking end of last season earlier in the week. “We want to go further than we did last year for sure.”
That fire showed early and often against Manhattan, as Stony Brook’s offense was large and in charge in the 19-3 win. After the junior Rogers and senior Mike Rooney switched positions—Rogers transitioning to attackman and Rooney to midfield—one would think it would take a while to adjust.
Instead the duo, which had made the move temporarily in the past, had no difficulty. In fact, both Rogers and Rooney scored two goals to propel the team to a 4-0 lead in the first quarter, which would never be challenged.
“Well, I mean last year we switched a few times during the season,” Rooney said. “It’s the same thing with our offense, just share the ball.”
Share it they did, as nine different players recorded a point on the day.
In fact, junior Brody Eastwood, who is known for scoring goals right outside the crease, set a teammate up for a goal, notching only his third career assist in his third season on Long Island. That assist ended up in the netting of sophomore midfielder Alex Corpolongo’s stick.
The Purdys, N.Y. native was one of three Seawolves who scored four goals on the day. The thing is, Corpolongo only managed three total in his freshman campaign.
“He’s just a great, great kid. He works extremely hard on his shooting, He’s one of the hardest working guys on our team,” Head Coach Jim Nagle said about the sophomore. “We’re really committed to going with him, we know he can really shoot the ball.”
Rogers noted that there is more than just a core group of scorers on the team. While Eastwood and Rooney led the team last season in goals, everybody can contribute, and in different ways.
“That’s like our whole team, next man up,“ Rogers said about the lack of selfishness in Stony Brook’s performance. “Anyone on our team can go out there and score [and] pass.”
Junior Matt Schultz, an attackman who was third on the team in goals scored last season, had none on Saturday. However, he led the team with four assists, making an important contribution despite not burying any of his seven shots.
Junior long stick midfielder Dylan Curry even managed to add to the goal tally. He raced into the midfield on a rush as seconds ticked a way in the half, launching what was an unlikely shot from long range, nailing it top shelf for his first goal of the year.
Despite the Seawolves coming out of their opener in a stadium filled more with ice and snow than fans, Rogers summed up the performance best.
“On to the next one,” he said. One pass at a time. One possession at a time. One game at a time.
Stony Brook next faces its lower-New York rival St. John’s this Saturday. The team will travel to Queens looking to avenge last season’s 13-11 loss at Kenneth P. LaValle Stadium.
