As junior midfielder Ally Kennedy notched her fifth goal of the matchup to put Stony Brook Women’s Lacrosse up by 14-10 against Princeton with 14 minutes remaining on Saturday, March 11, things for the team were looking up.
However, the next few minutes saw a tremendous turnaround.
Princeton rallied with two quick goals in the span of a minute to close the gap within two with 10 minutes left. However, it didn’t stop there. In the span of just 20 seconds, the Tigers went from being down 14-12, to tying the matchup with just over four minutes remaining. The momentum swing would reach its peak as Princeton junior attacker Tess D’Orsi scored the game winner with two minutes remaining, sealing the score at 15-14.
“This was a battle with two great teams going punch for punch,” head coach Joe Spallina said in a press release. “We tip our cap to Princeton, they are a great team and are top 10 for a reason and made some big plays down the stretch. Our team is getting closer and closer to playing at the level we are capable of.’
The matchup had a total of five lead changes and four ties. The Seawolves fell back early, as the Tigers drew first blood with a goal in the opening seconds followed by three more. The Seawolves fought back with an offensive surge however, led by Kennedy who scored two of the next four goals to put her team in front. She finished the matchup with team-highs in goals with five, shots with 15 and grab balls with five.
Princeton sophomore attacker Kyla Sears led the way for her side. The sophomore finished the matchup with six goals and eight points, both game-highs. Heading into the half, Sears had scored five of her goals and Princeton went into the locker room up 9-8.
Stony Brook held the advantage in shots 22-16 and ground balls 12-8. The matchup was at an about even pace throughout the first half, yet the early Stony Brook press in the second half gave the team the largest lead with four.
Despite the loss, Spallina believes his team can rebound and is closer to finding its team identity.
“We had a great week of practice and it translated out on the field but there are no moral victories,” Spallina said. “We have to be able to find ways to win these type of games.”
The Seawolves start off the season at a sub-.500 record of 2-3 for the first time since 2016. That 2016 squad finished off the year with an overall record of 17-4 and 8-0 in conference play. Stony Brook begins conference play on Wednesday, March 13 as the team travels to Maryland for a matchup against UMBC at 5 p.m.
