A dominant offensive showing from the freshmen helped lift the Stony Brook women’s soccer team to a statement 6-0 win in Sunday’s game against Wagner. Freshman forward Alyssa Francese scored a hat-trick for Stony Brook in the first start of her collegiate career. The last hat-trick for Stony Brook Women’s Soccer was midfielder Tiffany Fasullo, who scored three goals against Howard in 2004.

“She did really well today,” head coach Brendan Faherty said. “She also played really well against Hofstra and she was awarded the start for today. Our wing play was much better and our ability for our wingers to get down to the endline and cross balls freed up Alyssa to get in front of the net.”

Francese scored off a header thanks to senior midfielder Sam Goodwin’s corner kick in the 53rd minute, followed by a goal three minutes later in which Francese dribbled past the Wagner defense from midfield and shot it from just outside the penalty box. Her final goal of the day was from in front of the net in the 68th minute, assisted by freshman forward Fanny Gotesson.

Freshman forward Rachel Florenz also had a great game, netting two goals. Her first goal went over the goalie and into the back of the net in the 71st minute. Her other goal was in the 75th minute from a shot in front of the net that found the upper left corner.

The first goal of the game was from freshman midfielder Kimmy Chavkin in the 36th minute. Her shot from just outside the box found its way to the upper right side of the goal. She was subbed into the game nine minutes prior and her goal created the offensive momentum.

The Seawolves’ offensive pressure was the main factor in their victory. From the moment the whistle blew, the Seawolves put pressure on the Seahawks defense. Seven shots, three of them on net, and a goal came out of the first half. In this half, three corner kicks were also awarded to the Seawolves.

In the second half, the offensive attack continued. The rest of the Seawolves’ five goals came off six shots. Getting to the net was done very easily, as five more corner kicks were awarded to the Seawolves in the second half, marking eight corner kicks total. The last time the Seawolves netted six goals in a single game was against Fairleigh Dickinson in 2013.

“I think the most talked about thing with our group is that we haven’t scored a goal in three weeks,” Faherty said. “To score six in one today says a lot about their resiliency as a group and their ability to believe in each other, because when things don’t go your way, it’s easy to drop your head and not have confidence but our group has continued to get better and hopefully this is a launch pad for us for the rest of the season.”

Defensive play for the Seawolves was also crucial the shutout. Stony Brook held the Seahawks to only two shots, which both came at the first half. Both goalkeepers took part in today’s clean-sheet. Freshman goalkeeper Sofia Manner started the game and was subbed out in the 77th minute for junior Sara Gallagher.

Wagner’s defense failed to keep up against the fast-paced Stony Brook offense. As soon as the match began, Stony Brook was able to march down to the Wagner net and get a shot off. Throughout the first half, Wagner was falling behind and committing fouls to attempt to stop the pressure. In the second half, Stony Brook maintained the pressure. Two yellow cards were assessed to Wagner, both coming off hard fouls during a Stony Brook offensive attack.

One negative that may affect the Seawolves in the future was an injury to junior forward Julie Johnstonbaugh, who has been a large impact in the offense. In the 18th minute, while going up for a header, Johnstonbaugh collided with Wagner junior midfielder Maria D’Amico. She left the game and did not return.

The Seawolves’ overall record improves to 3-6. They look to keep the momentum going as they play Sacred Heart on Friday, Sept. 22 at 3 p.m.