The Stony Brook men’s soccer team took down the UMBC Retrievers 2-0 at Retriever Soccer Park on Wednesday, the final day of America East regular season play. With Stony Brook’s win in addition to losses from Binghamton and Hartford, the team clinched the sixth and final spot in the America East Tournament.
“Strong performances tonight in many areas,” head coach Ryan Anatol said in a press release. “[The Retrievers] were good on restarts and we had to defend very well to get the shutout. [Graduate defender Lars Togstad] scored a great header and I am happy for him as he has been so close throughout the year.”
Togstad put Stony Brook on the board early in the first half. Junior midfielder Serge Gamwanya took a corner in the 17th minute and was able to rise above all the other players in the penalty box to head the ball toward the net. The ball bounced off the inside of the left post and crossed the goal line for the 1-0 lead.
Redshirt-senior goalkeeper Tom McMahon made his second start after missing the last month with a hip flexor injury. McMahon made four saves on the night, helping him earn his sixth victory of the year. The shutout was McMahon’s 14th of his collegiate career, which is the third-most in program history.
The Retrievers came out more aggressive in the second half, taking four quality shots on net within the first 10 minutes. McMahon made several saves, including a last-second stop off Retrievers senior defender Tom Paul’s header in the 56th minute.
Anatol praised his team’s efforts on continuing to fight after being pressed early in the second half.
“I thought we also played with good energy in the attack, and we created some very good opportunities,” Anatol said. “We had chances to get a few more earlier in the second half, but their keeper kept them in the game. Ultimately, [sophomore midfielder Jarred Dass] scored a good second goal to finish off the game.”
Dass broke free in the midfield, moving past his defender and placing a shot past retreating UMBC freshman goalkeeper Ciaran O’Loughlin for the insurance goal that gave Stony Brook a 2-0 lead with less than 10 minutes to go in second half.
This victory is the team’s first win since Oct. 3, when the team scored a season-high four goals in a 4-1 victory over Sacred Heart. It has became clear that the Seawolves missed McMahon in the net with the team getting its first win in 30 days. Stony Brook posted a 4-1-1 record with McMahon as the starting goalkeeper, while holding a 1-4-3 record with him on the bench.
The Seawolves will travel to Durham, New Hampshire to take on the No. 3-seeded New Hampshire Wildcats for the America East quarterfinals match-up on Saturday, Nov. 4 at 7 p.m. The Seawolves fell to the nationally ranked Wildcats 2-0 back on Oct. 21 at Wildcat Stadium.
