The philosophy that defense wins championships was demonstrated on Wednesday night as the Stony Brook Men’s Soccer team won in a 2-0 shutout against the Marist Red Foxes at Tenney Stadium in Poughkeepsie, New York.
It looked as if the first half was going to come to an end with the game tied at zero as neither team could spark anything on the offensive side of the ball. Through 44 minutes, the match had just two combined shots on goals.
It was not until the final minute of the first half that the Seawolves finally took it up a notch, flustering the Marist defense. Junior forward Vince Erdei crossed over the only defender in sight and scored from 13 yards out, hitting the left corner of the net.
Erdei was freed up off of a long-distance pass from sophomore midfielder Serge Gamwanya, who was credited with an assist. This was only the beginning for the duo; they hooked up once more in the 77th minute as Gamwanya sent a gift over to a wide-open Erdei who was able to kick the ball to the back of the net with ease, sealing the victory for Stony Brook and improving the team’s record to 5-2-1.
The Red Foxes showed up with a bit of vitality in the beginning of the second half as the Seawolves couldn’t keep them out of their defensive third but Stony Brook eventually matched the tenacity.
Both teams were relentless on the defensive side of the ball, referees had to talk to players on multiple occasions about the constant contact between each other. Three Stony Brook players, including Gamwanya, were presented yellow cards in the second half.
The Seawolves eventually built momentum off their clearances and were able get back on the offensive prowl rather quickly.
The Red Foxes outshot the Seawolves, 16-12, but Stony Brook was able to capitalize on its opportunities, unlike Marist. Redshirt junior goalkeeper Tom McMahon recorded his fourth shutout of the season with three saves on the night; the Seawolves have not lost a game this season when McMahon has at least three saves.
Teammates embraced Erdei as he put the dagger into Marist with his second goal of the night. Erdei, who ranked second in the America East in goals and points in 2015, started the season off peculiarly slow but was able to get back on track against Marist. The Hungarian now has four goals on the campaign.
With a heavy road game schedule this season, the Seawolves are proving that home-field advantage does not apply to them, as they improved their away record to 4-1-1.
Stony Brook will get a chance to extend their streak without a loss to six games as they prepare to take a trip to Fairfield, Connecticut on Saturday to face the Sacred Heart Pioneers at 3 p.m.. The matchup is the Seawolves’ final tuneup before America East play begins on Oct. 1.
