Stony Brook University women’s soccer team made their best start since 1998 season with a 2-1 victory against Towson University. With less than 4 minutes left on the clock, Cait Frank (Poughkeepsie, NY.) scored her first collegiate goal, bringing the Seawolves a late win on Friday night in front of 386 fans in the first round of the Holiday Inn Express Invitational at Kenneth P. LaValle Stadium. With the win, the Seawolves moved up to 4-1-0 on the year, while the Tigers dropped to 2-1-1 overall.
Both teams ran into action early, but it was the Seawolves that first broke the deadlock in the first half. Eight minutes into the first half, Brittany Benthin (Medina, NY.) battled for a loose ball in the right flank of the pitch, cut inside and fired a shot from 18 yards out, and the ball found the net in the bottom left corner.
With less than a minute remaining in first half, the Seawolves found themselves another golden opportunity as Tiffany Fasullo (Setauket, NY.) dribbled brilliantly through the defenders and fired a shot past the goal keeper, but also inches away from the right post.
The Tigers evened the score in the 60th minutes as a series of passes let Marissa Gross through and she pushed the ball past the reach of Seawolves keeper Marisa Viola (Mattituck, NY.) and off the right post to tie the game at 1 apiece.
With score tied late in the game, Seawolves made a breakthrough. Fasullo’s corner kick bounced to the far side of the box, where Kristin Mishrell (Roswell, GA.) fired a shot back across the box. Frank reacted quickly, reaching her left leg ahead of Tigers goal keeper Brandi Daniels to put the game-winning goal away.
The Tigers wanted to level the score, and they saw their best chance in the 87th minute as referee made a controversial call, Kate Collins (North Caldwell, NJ.) was given a red card for a handball inside the penalty area. But Viola proved to be a big presence inside the box as one Tigers player put the penalty wide of the mark. Viola stopped eight shots during the game, while Daniels made five saves on the losing side.
The Seawolves are back in action on Sunday when it takes on Providence in the final match of the Holiday Inn Express Tournament. The game will start on 2:30 p.m. at the LaValle Stadium
