Senior forward Raven Edwards converted on a penalty kick late in the game in the 86th minute to give the Stony Brook Seawolves the 3-2 victory against the New Hampshire Wildcats on Sunday afternoon at Kenneth P. LaValle Stadium.
New Hampshire entered the contest at 4-0 in America East play, alone in first place.
The Seawolves got off to a quick start against the first-place Wildcats when senior forward Tessa Devereaux gave the Seawolves a 1-0 lead in the third minute, as she right-footed a shot inside to the far post past New Hampshire’s junior goalie Mimi Borkan. Edwards continued to produce for Stony Brook when she stole the ball from Borkan and scored on an open net in the ninth minute to net her seventh goal of the season and the Seawolves a 2-0 lead early in the match.
After being shut out by Stony Brook in the first half, the Wildcats cut the Seawolves’ lead in half in the 70th minute, when freshman midfielder Gaby Dorsey deflected in sophomore midfielder Brooke Murphy’s free kick past Seawolves junior goalie Emily Doherty for Dorsey’s second goal of the season.
In the 85th minute, Murphy tied up the game when she kicked the ball from 25 yards out in the left corner of the net to tie the game, drastically shifting the momentum to the Wildcats.
Not long after New Hampshire tied the game, Edwards was fouled in the box by Wildcats senior midfielder Kirsten O’Neil to give the Seawolves a chance to take the lead back late in the game. Stony Brook’s leading scorer did not let her team down, converting on the PK to give her team the 3-2 lead in the 86th minute.
“I knew I just had to make it,” Edwards said about the goal.
O’Neil was given a red card for the foul and New Hampshire was forced to play with ten players for the rest of the contest.
Edwards has been stellar over the last couple weeks, scoring six goals in her last six games, including two on Sunday.
“I owe it to my teammates we have finally got our rhythm and the only difference is now were executing” Edwards said about her current hot streak.
The Seawolves have had many successes at home this season. They are currently 2-0 in conference play at LaValle Stadium and 5-2-2 overall at home.
“We love LaValle stadium” Seawolves head coach Sue Ryan said about the home-field advantage. “We talk about a lot on protecting our home turf, we are very family oriented team and they love playing in front of their friends and family.
The Seawolves are now 2-2 overall in conference play after Sunday’s game and now will prepare for Thursday, when they go on the road to Binghamton as they try continue to push for playoffs with only four games left. The Seawolves have struggled this season on the road, going 0-3-0.
“Were going to change that on Thursday that is our plan to put a little notch for a road win for us,” Ryan said.
