All good things must come to an end. This is true of the Stony Brook women’s lacrosse team’s 11-game win streak to start its season, before the No. 9/7 Seawolves fell to No. 20/20 Johns Hopkins on the road, 7-5.
Sophomore Courtney Murphy scored her 100th career goal with 24:32 remaining in the second half on a pass from classmate Dorrien Van Dyke, becoming the eighth player in program history to hit the mark.
It was more than just a personal achievement, as Murphy’s shot leveled a tense game against a nationally-ranked opponent after the Blue Jays got a goal of their own to pull ahead just 16 seconds into the second half.
Both teams had 13 shots in the game and the Seawolves had a 9-8 advantage in shots on the cage, but it was more so a battle of attrition. Neither team pushed the pace, with a lot of time spent passing the ball around the exterior of the offense.
As the game went along, there was a sense that the first squad that could gain a multi-goal advantage late in the contest would be able to hold on.
To the dismay of Head Coach Joe Spallina’s team, it was Johns Hopkins that would do just that. The Seawolves grabbed the lead for a moment on Van Dyke’s 23rd goal of the year, but the Blue Jays went on a three-goal run to take a lead that they would never give up.
Though the Seawolves had a couple of chances in the last ten minutes, Johns Hopkins would hold the ball for much of the time left in the contest, running out the clock for arguably the Blue Jay’s biggest win of the year.
In the first half, junior Taylor Ranftle showed why she has been a nice addition to Stony Brook’s lineup after transferring from Virginia, digging the Seawolves’ teeth into the game by tying affairs after the team fell behind early. Neither team would score until nearly twenty minutes later, when the Blue Jays scored their third goal courtesy of sophomore Haley Schweizer.
The lead would not last long, as Murphy inched closer to her landmark goal, netting her 99th just 1:38 before halftime.
For the first time this season, less than five players scored goals for Stony Brook. Also, the Seawolves only had one assist, coming from Van Dyke, showing a recent trend of the team lacking the fluidity that they have come to be known for.
Although the Seawolves suffered their first loss, much is to be said about Spallina’s team. The Seawolves’ 11 wins to open the season is the longest in program history. In fact, it ties their longest winning streak from last season, a year in which they made it to the second round of the NCAA Tournament.
The Seawolves travel north to Burlington, Vermont to take on their America East rivals, the Vermont Catamounts on Saturday at 11 a.m. They return home to face Northwestern (8-3) the very next day at noon.
