In the 10th minute, with Stony Brook Men’s Soccer’s offense pressuring the goal, Hartford made its first mistake of the night by booting the ball into its own net, giving the Seawolves a 1-0 lead. The blunder energized the Seawolves toward a 6-0 blowout victory against the Hawks on Friday, Oct. 26.
The six goals scored by the Seawolves are the most the team has ever produced under head coach Ryan Anatol, and their most since 1995, where the team scored 13 in a game against Old Westbury on Sept. 13. The victory continued the Seawolves’ climb to the top of the America East conference, improving their record to 5-1 with just one game remaining. The Seawolves have clinched at least a share of the regular season title and can secure sole possession for themselves via a victory or losses by UMBC, UMass Lowell and Vermont.
“Wonderful performance tonight,” Anatol said in a press release. “The guys showed a real determination to get the result and were really sharp right from the start of the game. We moved the ball well and created some good opportunities and finished our chances. Also very pleased we were able to keep our concentration throughout the game and keep a shutout.”
Stony Brook began to capitalize on goals from its own players in the 14th minute. Senior midfielder Serge Gamwanya took a shot straight away from 22 yards in front of the goal, and sunk it in right over the hand of Hartford junior goalkeeper Jimmy Slayton. Fifteen minutes later, junior striker Jarred Dass deflected a shot in front of the goal and in for the third goal of the game.
The Fernandes brothers combined to close out the half. Gamwanya placed a corner kick in the 33rd minute and found junior defender Gustavo Fernandes in front of the net, who headed it in for the fourth goal. Then redshirt-sophomore midfielder Gabriel Fernandes found a bouncing ball in the 37th minute and punched it in to make it 5-0. The Seawolves outshot the Hawks 11-3 in the period, and didn’t face a single shot on goal.
On the other side of the field, freshman goalkeeper Christian Miesch had a light night of work. Hartford didn’t put a shot on goal until sophomore defender Aitor Elena found an opportunity in the 61st minute, but Miesch converted it for his only save of the night. Junior goalkeeper Jacob Braham subbed in for Miesch in the 72nd minute and did not face a shot.
Stony Brook closed out the offensive scoring with a late game opportunity. Redshirt-freshman defender Matias Prando earned a free kick in the 87th minute, and drilled it into the far post for his first career goal.
The Seawolves will return home to close out the regular season against UMBC on Wednesday, Oct. 31 at 7 p.m. The team will also honor its three seniors that night: Gamwanya, midfielder Martieon Watson and defender Steven Ghitis.
