Senior attacker Kylie Ohlmiller responded to her quiet season opener with six goals and an assist as the No. 2 Stony Brook women’s lacrosse team took down No. 23 Stanford 15-9 Monday night at Cagan Stadium.
After a one-goal, two-assist performance in her team’s season-opening win against No. 5 USC on Friday night, the senior Ohlmiller took over the game as she has done so many times in the past. Her six goals are an early season-high for herself and her teammates, and her seven points of the night give her 349 career points, 99 away from the NCAA record for career points.
“[Ohlmiller] was incredible tonight, she was a great leader and made so many great plays,” head coach Joe Spallina said in a press release. “On Friday night, USC was doubling and tripling her and she was so poised and never forced anything. She embodies so many superstar qualities that you wish to have in a player and a person.”
The Cardinals kept the game close with the Seawolves early in the first half, trailing 3-2 seven minutes into it. The Seawolves came alive after that, going on a 7-0 scoring run that lasted until the final five minutes of the half. The team led 10-2 at that point and never looked back.
“It’s great to get another quality win versus a ranked opponent,” Spallina said. “It was definitely not a thing of beauty. I think we did some great things, but also did some things uncharacteristic of our team. That’s the great thing about starting the season against high-quality teams, it gives us a great opportunity to find our flaws early on and improve.”
Redshirt-senior attacker Courtney Murphy and sophomore attacker Taryn Ohlmiller each scored three goals and recorded two assists. Murphy leads the team with 13 total points this season, with the sophomore Ohlmiller just behind her with 12 points.
Senior midfielder Samantha DiSalvo, junior midfielder Mackenzie Burns and sophomore midfielder Ally Kennedy each added in a goal in the victory, while junior goalkeeper Anna Tesoriero made eight saves on the night en route to her second win of the season.
Stony Brook defeated Stanford in nearly every statistical category Monday night as well. The team led in shots and shots on goal, with 31-26 and 23-17 advantages respectfully. The Cardinals turned the ball over 17 times while the Seawolves gave the ball up 12 times.
The teams tied in draw controls at 13, but the Seawolves had slight leads in both defensive clears and ground balls. Stony Brook had 20 clears to Stanford’s 18 and Stony Brook picked up one more ground ball than Stanford.
After opening the season 2-0 on their California road trip, the Seawolves will return home for their home opener and host the No. 20 Denver Pioneers on Sunday, Feb. 25 at Kenneth P. LaValle Stadium at 12 p.m.
