Finding itself up by a single goal with less than two minutes to play in regulation, Stony Brook Men’s Lacrosse looked to pull away from Hartford for itself second consecutive victory.
Head coach Jim Nagle called a timeout with little over a minute to play. Stony Brook then made a push toward the Hartford net. Sophomore attacker Tom Haun fired a shot past senior goalkeeper Ryan Vanderford just six seconds after the timeout to seal the Seawolves’ victory 10-8 Saturday afternoon at Kenneth P. LaValle Stadium.
“This was a great team win for us today, I’m really happy with the way the defense came together,” Nagle said in a press release. “We competed at the faceoff circle for the first time and we were able to shut down a really explosive offensive team, holding them to only eight goals, so there were a lot of positives for us.”
Haun scored two goals in the game, which now ties him with sophomore midfielder Chris Pickel, Jr., who also scored in the game, for the team’s top-scoring spot at 11 goals.
The team’s offense had been successful all day by maintaining possession and being able to get around the Hartford defense. The Seawolves led 6-5 headed into halftime and outshot the Hawks 18-12, along with competing in the faceoff circle by winning six faceoffs out of 13. The Seawolves have a record of 3-0 this season when leading at halftime.
Both teams shared a back-and-forth type of play in the third period of play, as Hartford scored to level the score at 6. Five minutes following the equalizing goal, Hartford’s leading goal scorer, senior midfielder Griffin Feiner, notched his 28th goal of the season and second of the game to put Hartford up 7-6 with 3:13 left to play in the third.
The Seawolves offense made a strong push following the goal, as junior long stick middie Ryland Rees and freshman midfielder Patrick Kaschalk scored back-to-back goals in the span of 41 seconds to retrieve the lead for their team. Stony Brook would not relinquish the lead for the remainder of the matchup.
Pickel, Jr. continued his hot streak of scoring in the matchup, notching a man-advantage goal with 6:42 left in the first period. Pickel, Jr. has scored in seven of the team’s eight games this season. Sophomore midfielder Wayne White notched his second multi-goal game of the season, as he scored back-to-back goals in the first period of play to tie the game at four.
The Stony Brook defense held the Hartford attack through the game, as sophomore goalkeeper Michael Bollinger made numerous stops, including four saves in the second period. Bollinger finished the matchup with 10 total saves, bringing his season total up to 52. When presenting a save percentage of 50 percent, the Seawolves have won three games. Bollinger’s decision record now improves to 3-2.
The game marks the seventh straight time Stony Brook has won against Hartford. The team has been off to a strong start in inter-conference play, winning their two games against America East teams. Stony Brook now claims the top spot in the America East with a 2-0 record and an overall record of 3-5. Stony Brook will travel upstate on Saturday, March 31 to take on in-state rival Albany. The first faceoff is set for 4 p.m.
