With the score tied at one apiece, senior midfielder Alex Corpolongo gave the Seawolves an early first quarter lead after he buried a goal in familiar unassisted fashion.
The floodgates then burst open.
Corpolongo’s go-ahead goal kick-started a 9-1 first half run for No. 12 Stony Brook Men’s Lacrosse, culminating in a 16-6 rout of the Lehigh Mountain Hawks Tuesday night in the Ulrich Sports Complex in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania.
With six Seawolves recording double-digit goals on the season, head coach Jim Nagle’s offense has been predicated on ball-movement that showcases a litany of finishers. Corpolongo, senior attackman Brody Eastwood and senior attackman Matt Schultz have all notched multiple four-goal-plus games this season.
But this trio only accounted for three goals on Tuesday, allowing junior attackman Ryan Bitzer to emerge as the game’s leading scorer with five goals, all coming in the second half. Add another threat to defenses’ radars.
Senior midfielders Challen Rogers and Chris Hughes enjoyed career performances of their own. Rogers dished out a career-high five assists, coupled by a pair of goals, while Hughes tallied a career-high six points on three goals and three assists.
With his five assists, Rogers moved past 2011 graduate and current Major League Lacrosse player Kevin Crowley for third place in Stony Brook’s all-time assist leaders.
Hughes became the 19th player in school history to record 100 career points.
Rogers’ first goal, off of a feed from Hughes, came with 2:20 left in the first quarter. Almost one quarter later, the roles were reversed as Hughes scored from a Rogers pass with 2:21 to go in the second quarter, concluding a 6-0 Seawolves run.
Leaving the locker room with a 10-3, Stony Brook let up a goal to junior attackman Matt Raposo — who led Lehigh in scoring with a pair of goals — with 13:37 left in the third quarter.
Three minutes later, Bitzer buried his first goal of the night, initiating a natural hat trick, or three consecutive goals, that brought the Seawolves into the fourth quarter with a 13-4 lead.
Lehigh jumped out early in the fourth, albeit with the game handily out of reach, scoring two goals within the quarter’s first three minutes.
Soon after, Corpolongo responded with yet another unassisted goal for his team-leading 26th on the season.
In a minute and a half, Bitzer would then tally two goals of his own, capping off the Seawolves’ 16-6 win.
Dominating on both sides of the field, Stony Brook’s defense stifled a Lehigh team that had entered the matchup averaging 12 goals per game which included matchups against ranked lacrosse powerhouses Duke and Navy.
Senior goalie Zach Oliveri continued his hot play with six saves, allowing two goals in the first half.
Faceoff specialist junior Jay Lindsay won 17 draws for the second straight game on 24 attempts and picked a game-high 11 ground balls. This, combined with a 37-31 edge in ground balls, allowed Stony Brook a majority of ball possession and the ability to dictate pace, leading to a 42-22 shot attempt discrepancy.
With no goals on four shot attempts, Eastwood still sits 12 goals away from becoming the program’s all-time scoring leader.
Stony Brook heads back home to Kenneth P. LaValle Stadium this Sunday at noon to resume conference play against the Vermont Catamounts.
