Sophomore attacker Courtney Murphy scored six goals, freshman attacker Kylie Ohlmiller totaled nine points and No. 5 Stony Brook annihilated the visiting UMass Lowell River Hawks 22-1 in the women’s lacrosse Senior Game on Saturday night at Kenneth P. LaValle Stadium.
The Seawolves’ regular season record finishes at 16-1, with a perfect 6-0 record in America East play.
“One of the things we wanted to do was come out and finish our conference season undefeated,” Head Coach Joe Spallina said after the regular season finale. “We didn’t want to share anything with anybody,” he said.
The Seawolves shared the America East regular season title last season with the Albany Great Danes, with both teams finishing 4-1.
The game never truly caused great worry, as Stony Brook is a top-5 team nationally and UMass Lowell is in its inaugural season of Division I women’s lacrosse. The Seawolves asserted their dominance in the opening minutes, making the score 8-0 in the first five minutes, 13-0 in the first 15 minutes and 20-0 by halftime.
Murphy scored four goals on her own in the opening 3:02 of the match. There was one point in the first half when the team scored four goals in a 35-second span less than five minutes into the opening period.
With Stony Brook leading by 20 at halftime, there seemed a realistic chance that the Seawolves would become only the second team in NCAA history to reach 30 goals in the last 25 years.
“We weren’t trying to score in the second half,” Spallina said, who removed most of the starters midway through the first half. The only Stony Brook goals after the break were by senior midfielder Sarah Ehrman and sophomore attacker Nichole Doran, the first goal of the season for both players.
Ohlmiller had four goals and five assists and sophomore midfielder Dorrien Van Dyke had three goals and three assists. Eleven different Seawolves players netted a goal in the blowout.
Ohlmiller has recently been named one of the 25 finalists for the Tewaaraton Trophy, given annually to the most outstanding lacrosse player in the nation. Ohlmiller is one of only three freshmen in the NCAA to be given the nomination.
“As a freshman, it’s definitely an honor,” Ohlmiller said, immediately giving credit to her teammates. “I definitely have my team to thank for it. I wouldn’t have all the assists I have without Michelle [Rubino], without Dorrien [Van Dyke], or without [Courtney] Murph[y].”
“She’s automatic offense,” Spallina said, “She’s got outstanding skills and her lacrosse I.Q. is off the charts. She’s a very, very talented kid.”
It was the last regular season game for the Stony Brook senior class and they were honored before the game. In their four years donning the Seawolf attire, the class as a whole has a record of 64-18.
“When I was a freshman, coming in, not knowing anyone, the upper class really welcomed us in,” senior captain Rubino reminisced. “That’s what our upper class tried to do this year to the freshman; welcome them in. We’re a young team.” Spallina had nothing but praise for the upcoming graduates.
“The senior class is special. They came in the same time that I was hired here, so they were able to be part of the emergence of this program,” he said. “They’ve been a part of it since day one. These guys really helped to put the program on the map.”
Looking forward, Stony Brook is back in action on Friday at 5 p.m. at LaValle Stadium, when the team will compete against the UMBC Retrievers in a semifinal of the America East tournament.
“I told our kids that we’re not guaranteed anything from this point on,” Spallina said. “We have one guaranteed game on our schedule and that’s Friday.”
