The last time that seven-time National Champion Northwestern played in Kenneth P. LaValle Stadium, the team won the NCAA Women’s Lacrosse Tournament.

Stony Brook reminded them whose house it is, shocking the Wildcats for their first win over a top-five team in program history by the score of 11-9.

Head Coach Joe Spallina could not contain his excitement, touting his team’s performance before even taking a seat after the game.

“Stepped it up. Never about talent, it’s all about our grit, Spallina said. “Landmark win. Landmark win. It’s monumental.  Never been more proud of a bunch of kids.”

Grit can be defined as courage, resolve and strength of character. The Seawolves showed all of that and more in front of nearly a 1,000-fan crowd putting it on full display.

Just yesterday, senior captain Michelle Rubino could not play against Vermont due to a lower body injury. Though still affected, there was no way she would give up the chance to help her team in such a big moment.

Watching her score a goal and dish four assists, it would be hard to tell that she was even hurt at all.

“[She] came into my office this morning, said there’s no way I’m staying off the field so how are we going to make this work,” Spallina said. “That kid has the heart of a lion.” He made her the equivalent of an attacker  though still compared to her usual all-over-the-place midfielder spot,

Spallina has said all season long and throughout his time at Stony Brook, the Seawolves are not necessarily about the flashy plays or the brand recognition. It is the heart and soul they put on the field every day that represent who they are.

“She’s honestly, if you had one player [to say] what are we about, that’s it,” Spallina said. “That’s a special kid man.”

Rubino’s early spurt helped reassure the Wildcats that they were not going to roll into Long Island and stroll out with a win.

“I think when we came out 5-0 and punched them in the mouth they were a little stunned,” sophomore Dorrien Van Dyke said.

It helped to have the team’s leading goal scorer, sophomore Courtney Murphy, do what she has done throughout her career put the ball in the back of the net. She scored three times, but it was the grit, as her coach spoke about, that shined through in the most critical of times.

“She’s just a tough kid. She’s going to pull her sleeves off and get after it,” Spallina said of Murphy, who controlled three draws, a department that smells of wanting it more. “[She is a] big gamer, she likes the big stage, all our kids do.” For a program that plays in the America East, playing a so-called “legendary” program in any sport is a huge moment in itself. To beat them means far more.

“I think this is really a huge step for us to show that we’re not just a one hit wonder,” Murphy said. “We didn’t just beat Florida. We’re here to stay.”

Spallina took more time to put his thoughts into words in describing exactly how big of an accomplishment beating this team is, being that they are consistently in the semifinals.

“For us to beat Northwestern, a team that’s won multiple national championships in our place in that stadium,” Spallina said. “Really, every one of our girls grew up watching them win national championships so we were playing more than them, we were playing the brand, too.”

Freshman sensation Kylie Ohlmiller continued to come up big for the Seawolves, scoring three of her four goals to start the second half for Stony Brook, just when it seemed that Northwestern may ride their momentum-shifting end to the first half into the next frame. 

“I thought we battled better in the second half with the draw controls, even the ones we didn’t get we were in a position to get, and that was big,” Spallina said.

Sophomore Dorrien Van Dyke scored twice and classmate Kristin Yevoli put the exclamation point on the win, scoring her only goal with 3:10 to go to put it out of reach.

Ohlmiller, who less than a year ago was duking it out with high school teams full of players, put it best. “They were definitely a team that you would grow up desiring to be on that team,” she said. “That was the goal—to go to Northwestern. Now that we’re one of them, that’s sick.”