The No. 6-seeded Stony Brook men’s soccer team traveled to Durham, New Hampshire to battle No. 3-seeded New Hampshire in the America East Championship quarterfinals game at Wildcat Stadium on Saturday night. New Hampshire scored a goal with 19 minutes left in regulation to win the game 1-0, ending the Seawolves’ season.
“I thought tonight was a tight conference tournament game,” head coach Ryan Anatol said in a press release. “Both teams worked hard and had their moments. It felt like one goal was going to separate the teams and unfortunately we couldn’t find one tonight. We are disappointed in the result but I am pleased with the effort and commitment our guys showed.”
Wildcats freshman midfielder Jacob Gould ripped a shot from just inside the Seawolves’ 18-yard box, floating it past the outstretched hand of redshirt-senior goalkeeper Tom McMahon to hit the top-left corner netting. That goal sealed the fate for Stony Brook, as the team was unable to find an equalizer.
The team was able to create several goal-scoring opportunities throughout the game and holding the Wildcats scoreless for 71 minutes. However, for a majority of the contest, the Seawolves looked lost on the field as the Wildcats built momentum for themselves with each passing minute.
This was evident on the offensive front, as Stony Brook was outshot 19-6, including a 7-1 shots on goal advantage for New Hampshire. The Wildcats had six corner kicks to the Seawolves’ five as well.
Stony Brook had its fair share of difficulties against No. 18 New Hampshire in both meetings this season. The first match-up was on Oct. 21 and resulted in a 2-0 loss to the Wildcats. The Seawolves have now played 180 minutes of scoreless soccer against the Wildcats this season.
After beginning the season with a 4-1-1 overall record, the team seemed to collapse in the second half of the season, winning three of its last 12 games.
Senior defender Danny Espinoza was quoted early on in the season saying that the team needed to remain healthy in order to reach America East glory. An injury to McMahon hindered those chances, as the team put up a 6-2-2 overall record with him in the starting lineup. The team’s record sat at 1-4-3 without McMahon in goal. The lone America East game the Seawolves won came against UMBC on Oct. 21, a game where McMahon started.
Stony Brook ends their season with a 7-6-5 overall record, including a 1-3-3 America East record. The team has 11 players graduating and not returning next year, the largest graduating class the program has seen since 2013. Senior forward Vince Erdei, Espinoza, McMahon, graduate defender Lars Togstad, graduate forward Robin Bjornholm-Jatta and senior midfielder Thibault Duval were among players who played their final game for the Seawolves.
