The Stony Brook women’s soccer team was unfazed by the rain as they beat the New Hampshire Wildcats in a washout of a game on Sunday, Oct. 27 by a score of 2-0. Despite a two hour and 17 minute delay interrupting the first half due to unplayable field conditions, the Seawolves still managed a win in their final regular season home game while improving to a 12-5 record on the season and securing a home game in the America East playoffs.

Due to the heavy downpour, the field became less than playable with passes stopping only a few feet away from the people passing the ball. However, once the water drained and the first half ended, the Seawolves turned up the heat and began to attack the Wildcats. After going 0-5 on shots in the first half, Seawolves junior forward Alyssa Francese scored her 12th goal on the season with a tap-in goal coming off an assist from freshman midfielder Paula Petri in the 57th minute. Francese added to her game-winning goals total with her seventh, the second-most among all Division I players, and her 12 goals are also the most by any Seawolves player in a season since 2000. 

Petri was not done setting her teammates up, though, as she also assisted on junior forward Rachel Florenz’s goal in the 62nd minute, her fourth on the season. “I kinda just wanted to put in another goal early because I just wanted to end the game with no ability for them to come back,” Florenz said in a post-game interview with The Statesman. The Seawolves would never relinquish the lead as they held out for the victory.

“It was obviously very difficult circumstances with the heavy rain and over two-hour delay after 21 minutes,” Stony Brook head coach Tobias Bischof said in a postgame interview. “It’s tough to stay focused but that’s one of the strengths of our team. They are staying focused and can handle difficult circumstances, which is not easy, but they did a terrific job.”

The team now heads off to face the Hartford Hawks for a Halloween showdown to decide the regular season America East championship. If Stony Brook wins or ties, they will secure the regular season title, the No. 1 seed in the playoffs and home field advantage. A loss would open the door for Hartford or Albany to steal the title. 

So what is the team’s game plan for the playoffs? According to Bischof, it’s simple. “Win a game. Move on to the next game.”